Atomically sharp domain walls in an antiferromagnet

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of atomically sharp domain walls in an antiferromagnetic material, revealing a new limit in magnetic texture scaling with potential for advanced device applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of atomically sharp domain walls in antiferromagnetic CuMnAs, challenging existing theories and opening new avenues for ultra-fast spintronic devices.

Findings

Atomically sharp domain walls observed in CuMnAs

Use of advanced microscopy and calculations to confirm findings

Potential for novel device functionalities beyond ferromagnets

Abstract

The interest in understanding scaling limits of magnetic textures such as domain walls spans the entire field of magnetism from its relativistic quantum fundamentals to applications in information technologies. The traditional focus of the field on ferromagnets has recently started to shift towards antiferromagnets which offer a rich materials landscape and utility in ultra-fast and neuromorphic devices insensitive to magnetic field perturbations. Here we report the observation that domain walls in an epitaxial crystal of antiferromagnetic CuMnAs can be atomically sharp. We reveal this ultimate domain wall scaling limit using differential phase contrast imaging within aberrationcorrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, which we complement by X-ray magnetic dichroism microscopy and ab initio calculations. We highlight that the atomically sharp domain walls are outside the remits of established spin-Hamiltonian theories and can offer device functionalities unparalleled in ferromagnets.