Observation of cluster magnetic octupole domains in the antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn nanowire

TL;DR

This paper reports the direct measurement of cluster magnetic octupole domains in Mn3Sn nanowires, revealing detailed magnetic structures at nanoscale, which is essential for potential memory device applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to map magnetic octupole domains in Mn3Sn nanowires with high spatial resolution, advancing understanding of their magnetic properties at the nanoscale.

Findings

Mapped magnetic octupole domains with 80 nm resolution

Revealed distribution of magnetic moments in Mn3Sn nanowires

Provided insights for integrating Mn3Sn into memory devices

Abstract

The antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn has attracted wide attention due to their vast anomalous transverse transport properties despite barely net magnetization. So far, the magnetic properties of Mn3Sn have been experimentally investigated on micrometer scale samples but not in nanometers. In this study, we measured the local anomalous Nernst effect of a (0001)-textured Mn3Sn nanowire using a tip-contact-induced temperature gradient with an atomic force microscope. Our approach directly provides the distribution of the cluster magnetic octupole moments in Mn3Sn with 80 nm spatial resolution, providing crucial information for integrating the Mn3Sn nanostructure into a memory device.