Electrically Accessible Metamagnetic Transition via a Doping-Induced Low-Energy Magnetic State in Antiferromagnetic Insulator RFeO3

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an electrically accessible metamagnetic transition in an insulating orthoferrite through targeted rare-earth doping, enabling low-power control of antiferromagnetic states via spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel doping strategy that stabilizes a low-energy antiferromagnetic state in Ho0.5Dy0.5FeO3, allowing electrical control of magnetic phase transitions at low fields.

Findings

Electrical access to antiferromagnetic phase transitions achieved.

Low-field metamagnetic transition observed via spin Hall magnetoresistance.

Critical field decreases with increasing temperature, enabling tunable control.

Abstract

Low-energy antiferromagnetic phase transitions offer an appealing platform for low-power spintronic functionalities, yet their direct electrical access in insulating antiferromagnets remains challenging, particularly in the low-field regime where subtle Neeel vector reorientations dominate. Here, we demonstrate that targeted rare-earth-site engineering enables an electrically accessible metamagnetic transition in the insulating orthoferrite Ho0.5Dy0.5FeO3. By combining the distinct spin-reorientation sequences of DyFeO3 and HoFeO3, Dy substitution stabilizes a dual spin-reorientation pathway, hosting an intermediate state with a reduced energy barrier. This low-energy antiferromagnetic state can be tuned into the weak-ferromagnetic state under low magnetic fields. The critical field decreases with increasing temperature, providing a favorable window for functional manipulation. Both longitudinal and transverse spin Hall magnetoresistance channels exhibit clear and reproducible signatures of the metamagnetic transitions. Owing to the enhanced sensitivity of the transverse channel, additional low-field features are resolved, reflecting the projection of the Neel vector onto the spin-accumulation direction. Electrical transport measurements correlate directly with the magnetically determined phase boundaries, establishing a purely electrical access to low-energy phase transitions and to illustrate a viable pathway for exploring low-power spin dynamics in insulating oxide antiferromagnets.