Yan Wen

Spin‐orbit torque resulting from non‐magnetic materials with strong spin‐orbit coupling enables electrically controlled magnetization switching, offering potential applications in ultralow‐power memory and logic devices. However, such switching of perpendicular magnetization usually requires an in‐plane magnetic field along the applied current direction, which limits its use. To address this challenge, an all‐oxide superlattice is designed and fabricated that show both the perpendicular magneto‐crystalline anisotropy and in‐plane magnetic anisotropies induced by interfacial engineering. The results demonstrate that the coexistence of perpendicular and in plane magnetic anisotropy breaks the symmetry and thus enables the pure electrical switching of perpendicular magnetization.

The excitation of Weyl semimetals obeys the relativistic Weyl equation and attracted significant research attention due to its unique electronic state. In this paper, we present an emerging approach for modulating the electron state of half-Heusler GdPtBi by hydrostatic pressure. Through measurements of the temperature-dependent resistivity and magnetoresistance (MR), a phase transition from a Weyl semimetal to a semiconductor state was identified at about 2.0 GPa upon increasing the hydrostatic pressure. Electron transport in semiconductive GdPtBi is found to be well describable by Mott variable-range-hopping. The simulated electronic structures under different hydrostatic pressures further indicate that changes in the electronic states of atoms in the primary unit cell result in a phase transition in GdPtBi. This work presents an effective strategy for modulating the electronic state by tuning the lattice constant.

We demonstrate a giant magnetoelectric effect in perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Ta ultrathin films on a ferroelectric substrate.

We investigate the transport properties of a NbSe₂ step junction and verify that the enhancement of the critical current density is due to the vortex pinning at the step junction.

Half-Heusler alloys possess unique and desirable physical properties due to their thermoelectricity, magnetism, superconductivity, and weak antilocalization effects. These properties have become of particular interest since the recent discovery of topological Weyl semimetal state for which the electronic bands are dispersed linearly around one pair of Weyl nodes, with opposite chirality (i.e., chiral anomaly). Here, we report the transport signatures of topological electronic state in a half-Heusler GdPtBi single crystal. We show that the non-trivial π Berry phase, negative magnetoresistance and giant planner Hall effect arise from the chiral anomaly and that the Shubnikov–de Haas oscillation frequency in GdPtBi is angle-dependent with an anisotropic Fermi surface (FS). All transport signatures not only demonstrate the topological electronic state in half-Heusler GdPtBi crystals, but also describe the shape of the anisotropy FS.

Néel-type magnetic skyrmions in multilayers are promising candidates for ultra-low power spintronic devices. To image the Néel-type skyrmions using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (L-TEM), the samples must be tilted. Thus, the external magnetic field consists of both in-plane and out-of-plane components. To date, it is still not well known on the effect of the in-plane magnetic field on the L-TEM images, leading to ambiguities in retrieving the structure of Néel-type skyrmions. Here, Néel-type skyrmions in three [Pt/Co/Ta]₂₀ multilayer samples, with the easy magnetization axis being tuned from the out-of-plane to the in-plane direction by increasing the Co thickness from 1.8 to 2.2 nm, are imaged. When using a smaller defocus value (−2 mm) and a higher magnification (×9100) of L-TEM, a surprising dark-bright-dark-bright double contrasted pattern, instead of the previously reported dark-bright contrasted pattern, is observed. The additional dark-bright contrasted pattern becomes more evident for thicker Co layer samples in which the magnetization axis tilts more toward the in-plane direction. Further analysis, via a combination of magnetic force microscopy experiments, micromagnetic simulations, and micromagnetic analysis to Lorentz TEM simulation, shows that the additional dark-bright features originate from the deformation of the Néel-type skyrmions within an in-plane magnetic field.

The direct imaging of inhomogeneous current distribution was demonstrated by using the polar magneto-optical Kerr microscopy.

We report reversible and nonvolatile fully electrical control of magnetic tunnel junctions deposited on a ferroelectric substrate.