Anomalous Hall transport in Mn$_{3}$Sn$_{0.5}$X$_{0.5}$C (X = Ge and Zn)

TL;DR

This study explores the anomalous Hall effect in Mn3SnC compounds doped with Ge and Zn, revealing enhanced Hall conductivity and complex magnetic transitions driven by scattering mechanisms and Berry curvature effects.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of anomalous Hall effect in Ge- and Zn-doped Mn3SnC, highlighting the role of scattering and Berry curvature in these topological antiperovskites.

Findings

Enhanced anomalous Hall conductivity with doping

Complex magnetic transitions at various temperatures

Scattering mechanisms significantly influence Hall effect

Abstract

Mn-based antiperovskites that exhibit topological surface states show potential applications in spintronics, magnetoelectronics, and quantum devices owing to the interplay between magnetism and topology. In this family of compounds, Mn$3$SnC exhibits a concurrent ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic ground state below $T \sim 285$ K, along with a Berry curvature driven anomalous Hall effect. Here, we report the anomalous Hall effect in Ge- and Zn-doped Mn$3$SnC compounds, namely Mn$3$Sn${0.5}$Ge${0.5}$C (MSGC) and Mn$3$Sn${0.5}$Zn${0.5}$C (MSZC). MSGC undergoes a paramagnetic to concurrent antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic transition at $T_C \sim 300$ K, whereas MSZC exhibits a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition at $T_C \sim 240$ K, followed by a ferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic transition at $T_N \sim 170$ K. The electronic transport in these compounds is governed by electron-phonon and electron-magnon scattering and shows anomalous Hall resistivity $\rho^A_{xy}$. Our analysis indicates that the anomalous Hall effect arises from contributions of skew scattering and intrinsic Berry curvature mechanisms, with electron-phonon and electron-magnon scattering playing an important role in skew scattering at high temperatures. Ge and Zn doping in Mn$_3$SnC significantly enhances the anomalous Hall conductivity.