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Quantum oscillations and transport properties of layered single-crystal SrCu 4 ⁢As 2

Here, we report a systematic investigation of the physical properties and Fermi-surface topology of layered single-crystal SrCu 4⁢ As 2 using electrical transport, magnetotransport, and quantum-oscillation experiments plus band-structure calculations. The temperature-dependent electrical resistivity reveals a hysteretic phase transition at 𝑇 𝑃 =59 K, most likely associated with a structural change. Hall resistivity data suggest a marked change in the average hole density resulting from the latter phase transition near 𝑇 𝑃 . A large, linear, and nonsaturating magnetoresistance is observed at low temperatures in SrCu 4 ⁢As 2 , likely attributable to the multipocket Fermi surface. Quantum-oscillation data measured in magnetic fields of up to 60 T show several oscillation frequencies exhibiting low effective masses, indicating the presence of Dirac-like band dispersion in SrCu 4 ⁢As 2 , as suggested by the band structure calculations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Fermi Surface Nesting and Anomalous Hall Effect in Magnetically Frustrated Mn 2 PdIn

Noncollinear magnets with near-zero net magnetization and nontrivial bulk electronic topology hold significant promise for spintronic applications, though their scarcity necessitates deliberate design strategies. In this work, a topologically nontrivial electronic structure is reported in metallic Mn 2 PdIn, which crystallizes in the inverse Heusler structure and exhibits a spin-glassy ground state with quenched magnetization. The system features Weyl-type band crossings near the Fermi level and reveals a novel interplay among momentum-space nesting, orbital hybridization, and spin-orbit coupling. Comprehensive magnetotransport measurements reveal a pronounced anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in Mn 2 PdIn. The observed quadratic relationship between the longitudinal and anomalous Hall resistivities highlights the dominance of the intrinsic Berry curvature contribution to the AHE. These findings establish inverse Heusler alloys as compelling platforms for realizing noncollinear magnets that host Weyl-type semimetallic or metallic phases-combining suppressed magnetization with robust electronic transport-thereby offering a promising route toward their seamless integration into next-generation spintronic devices.

Ahmed, Afsar [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, K

Density Dependence of the Phases of the v = 1 Integer Quantum Hall Plateau in Low Disorder Electron Gases

Recent magnetotransport measurements in low-disorder electron systems confined to GaAs/AlGaAs samples reveal that the v = 1 integer quantum Hall plateau is broken into three distinct regions. These three regions are associated with two phases with different types of bulk localization: the Anderson insulator is due to random quasiparticle localization, and the integer quantum Hall Wigner solid is due to pinning of a stiff quasiparticle lattice. Universal properties of the v = 1 plateau are highlighted: the structure of the stability diagram, the nonmonotonic dependence of the activation energy on the filling factor, and the alignment of features of the activation energy with features of the stability regions of the different phases are found to be similar in three samples spanning a wide range of electron densities. Quantitative differences between the samples are also discussed, such as the dependence of the onset temperature and the activation energy of the integer quantum Hall Wigner solid on the electron density. The findings provide insights into the localization behavior along the v = 1 integer quantum Hall plateau in the low disorder regime.

Anderson insulator

Intricate Magnetic Landscape in Antiferromagnetic Kagome Metal TbTi 3 Bi 4 and Interplay with Ln 2– x Ti 6+ x Bi 9 (Ln: Tb···Lu) Shurikagome Metals

Here we present the discovery and characterization of the kagome metal TbTi 3 Bi 4 in tandem with a new series of compounds, the Ln 2–x Ti 6+x Bi 9 (Ln: Tb–Lu) shurikagome metals. We previously reported on the growth of the LnTi 3 Bi 4 (Ln: La–Gd 3+ , Eu 2+ , Yb 2+ ) family, a chemically diverse and exfoliable series of kagome metals with complex and highly anisotropic magnetism. However, unlike the La–Gd analogs, TbTi 3 Bi 4 cannot be synthesized by our previous methodology due to phase competition with crystals of Ln 2–x Ti 6+x Bi 9 (x ~ 1.7–1.2). Here we discuss the phase competition between the LnTi 3 Bi 4 and Ln 2–x Ti 6+x Bi 9 families, helping to frame the difficulty in synthesizing LnTi 3 Bi 4 compounds with small Ln species and providing a strategy to circumvent the formation of Ln 2–x Ti 6+x Bi 9 . Detailed characterization of the magnetic and electronic transport properties on single crystals of TbTi 3 Bi 4 reveals a highly complex landscape of magnetic phases arising from an antiferromagnetic ground state. A series of metamagnetic transitions creates at least 5 unique magnetic phase pockets, including a 1/3 and 2/3 magnetization plateau. Further, the system exhibits an intimate connection between the magnetism and magnetotransport, exhibiting sharp switching from positive (+40%) to negative magnetoresistance (–50%). Like the LnTi 3 Bi 4 kagome metals, the Ln 2–x Ti 6+x Bi 9 family exhibits quasi-2D networks of titanium and chains of rare earth. Finally, we present the structures and some basic magnetic properties of the Ln 2–x Ti 6+x Bi 9 family alongside our characterization of the newly discovered TbTi 3 Bi 4 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH

Impact of Arsenic- and Indium-Terminated InGaAs Stressors on Carrier Confinement, Strain, Defects, and Transport Properties of Tensile-Strained Ge

Device-quality tensile-strained Ge (ε-Ge) grown on a large bandgap semiconductor with superior electrical and optical carrier confinement is essential for group-IV-based optoelectronics. Properties of ε-Ge active layers synthesized on In 0.24 Ga 0.76 As buffers with two different surface terminations─arsenic-rich and indium-rich─were experimentally demonstrated, highlighting the factors not considered in theoretical calculations. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy analyses of these ε-Ge/In 0.24 Ga 0.76 As heterostructures confirmed the fully strained (1.6%) and partially relaxed (0.82%) nature of the ε-Ge bonded with arsenic-terminated (Ge As-terminated ) and indium-terminated (Ge In-terminated ) In 0.24 Ga 0.76 As stressors, respectively. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy showed a coherent, sharp, and fully strained ε-Ge/In 0.24 Ga 0.76 As heterointerface in the Ge As-terminated heterostructure, whereas microtwin defects were present in the Ge In-terminated heterostructure. These heterostructures were further characterized by evaluating the minority carrier lifetimes, high for Ge As-terminated (525 ns) and low for Ge In-terminated (69 ns), using the photoconductive decay technique. Moreover, band alignment was constructed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, where the Ge As-terminated heterostructure revealed that both holes and electrons were confined within the ε-Ge active layer as a type-I band alignment with ΔE V, As-terminated = 0.22 eV and ΔE C,As-terminated = 0.38 eV. On the other hand, the Ge In-terminated heterostructure exhibited a type-II band alignment with ΔE V,In-terminated = – 0.02 eV and ΔE C,In-terminated = 0.53 eV. Furthermore, the magnetotransport properties revealed high mobility (321 cm 2 /(V s)) with single-electron transport in Ge As-terminated heterostructure and low mobility (3.34 cm 2 /(V s)) with multihole transport in the Ge In-terminated heterostructure. Therefore, preferring the ε-Ge on the arsenic-rich surface of In 0.24 Ga 0.76 As stressor over the indium-rich surface during material synthesis offers device-quality materials with high carrier lifetime and superior carrier confinement, which can provide an opportunity to fabricate efficient group-IV-based optoelectronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Proximity Magnetism in Mn(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 4 –(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 /MnTe Natural Heterostructures

Magnetic topological insulators and their heterostructures provide significant opportunities to couple band topology with a nontrivial spin configuration for enhanced spintronic device performance, as well as designing magnetoelectric systems and functionalities. We find that Mn interdiffusion from MnTe when interfaced with (Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 stabilizes as self-organized Mn(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 4 septuple lamellae among alternating (Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 quintuple layers, as observed using scanning transmission electron microscopy and depth-sensitive polarized neutron reflectometry. We further demonstrate a valuable combination of magnetic and topological orders in these naturally formed Mn(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 4 –(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 heterostructures, which are exchange-coupled with MnTe. Magnetotransport experiments and quantum magnetism simulations reveal that, above its own Néel temperature T N ∼ 20 K, Mn(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 4 mediates the exchange field leading to an anomalous Hall effect at the (Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 /MnTe interface, with an enhanced interfacial T N exceeding 200 K, approaching that of the bulk MnTe. This magnetic interface, in turn, allows a robust and deterministic spin–orbit torque switching without an external magnetic field at a low critical current density of 3 × 10 5 A cm –2 . The antiferromagnetically coupled architecture of Mn(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 4 –(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 /MnTe, featuring magnetic and topological proximity effects across a chalcogenide backbone, is rich in fundamental interface physics and holds the potential for practical applications in spintronics.

magnetic topological insulator

Transport phase diagram and anomalous metallicity in superconducting infinite-layer nickelates

Despite obvious similarities in their electronic and crystallographic structures, it remains unclear whether the interactions that shape the normal and superconducting (SC) state properties of high-T c cuprates and infinite-layer nickelates (ILNs) have the same origin. This question has been brought into sharper focus with recent studies on ILNs of improved crystallinity that reveal a SC dome of comparable extent and similar transport properties above T c as the hole-doped cuprates. The evolution of these properties in the magnetic-field-induced normal state, however, has yet to be determined. Here, we examine the magnetotransport properties of new-generation Nd 1−x Sr x NiO 2 films in the T → 0 limit across the phase diagram in fields up to 54 T. This extensive study reveals that the limiting low-T form of the normal-state resistivity in ILNs exhibits non-Fermi-liquid behaviour over an extended doping range inside the SC dome, rather than at a singular quantum critical point. While there are clear differences in the charge dynamics of ILNs and cuprates, most notably in the magnetoresistance, our findings reveal that both systems exhibit anomalous metallicity characteristic of a quantum critical phase.

Hsu, Yu-Te

Chiral spin-liquid-like state in pyrochlore iridate thin films

The pyrochlore iridates have become ideal platforms to unravel fascinating correlated and topological phenomena that stem from the intricate interplay among strong spin-orbit coupling, electronic correlations, lattice with geometric frustration, and itinerancy of the 5d electrons. The all-in-all-out antiferromagnetic state, commonly considered as the magnetic ground state, can be dramatically altered in reduced dimensionality, leading to exotic or hidden quantum states inaccessible in bulk. Here, by means of magnetotransport, resonant elastic and inelastic x-ray scattering experiments, we discover an emergent quantum disordered state in (111) Y 2 Ir 2 O 7 thin films (thickness ≤30 nm) persisting down to 5 K, characterized by dispersionless magnetic excitations. The anomalous Hall effect observed below an onset temperature near 125 K corroborates the presence of chiral short-range spin configurations expressed in non-zero scalar spin chirality, breaking the macroscopic time-reversal symmetry. The origin of this chiral state is ascribed to the restoration of magnetic frustration on the pyrochlore lattice in lower dimensionality, where the competing exchange interactions together with enhanced quantum fluctuations suppress any long-range order and trigger spin-liquid-like behavior with degenerate ground-state manifold.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND

Anomalous Hall effect from inter-superlattice scattering in a noncollinear antiferromagnet

Superlattice formation dictates the physical properties of many materials, including the nature of the ground state in magnetic materials. Chemical composition is commonly considered to be the primary determinant of superlattice identity, especially in intercalation compounds. Nevertheless, in this work, we find that kinetic control of superlattice growth leads to the coexistence of disparate crystallographic domains within a compositionally perfect single crystal. We demonstrate that Cr1/4TaS2 is a noncollinear antiferromagnet in which scattering between majority and minority superlattice domains engenders complex magnetotransport below the Néel temperature, including an anomalous Hall effect. We characterize the magnetic phases in different domains, image their nanoscale morphology, and propose a mechanism for nucleation and growth using a suite of experimental probes coupled with first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis. These results provide a blueprint for the deliberate engineering of macroscopic transport responses via microscopic tuning of magnetic exchange interactions in superlattice domains.

Xie, Lilia S

Three-dimensional nature of anomalous Hall conductivity in YMn 6 Sn 6−x Ga x , x ≈ 0.55

The unique geometry of kagome lattices leads to topological features such as flat bands and Dirac cones. When paired with ferromagnetism and a Fermi level near Dirac points, they offer a platform for realizing topological Chern magnetotransport. This prospect recently drew interest in the ferrimagnetic kagome metal TbMn 6 Sn 6 . However, density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that its 2D Chern gap lies well above the Fermi energy, raising questions about its role in anomalous Hall conductivity. Here, we study YMn 6 Sn 5.45 Ga 0.55 , a structurally and electronically similar material, and find that its intrinsic anomalous Hall effect is three-dimensional. This demonstrates that the Hall response in such compounds does not originate from 2D Chern gaps. Additionally, we confirm that the newly proposed empirical scaling relation for extrinsic Hall conductivity is universally governed by spin fluctuations.

Bhandari, Hari [University of Notre Dame, IN (Unit

Enhancement to the conductivity of surface transfer-doped (111) diamond through thermochemical surface etching

The use of a transition metal catalyzed thermochemical etching method for improving the carrier transport properties of the near-surface two-dimensional (2D) hole gas in surface transfer-doped hydrogen-terminated (111) diamond is demonstrated. Using Ni 0.8 Cr 0.2 films deposited and annealed to a temperature of 900 °C, with up to three etch cycles, preferential (111) surface etching produces large terraces exceeding 10 μm in size with a surface microroughness, σ 2 RMS λ, that is two orders of magnitude lower than for the pre-etched (111) surface. Magnetotransport measurements on hydrogen-terminated Hall bars engineered on the pre- and post-etched surfaces and rendered conductive by the adsorbed water layer formed on exposure to ambient conditions demonstrate that this etching causes an improvement in the hole mobility by an order of magnitude, resulting in a measured sheet resistivity of 1.04 kΩ/sq at a temperature of 4.2 K without gating.

42 ENGINEERING

An alternative ground state of MnBi 2 Te 4 obtained by magnetic annealing

Magnetic topological insulators are extremely interesting because they combine the unique properties of topological insulators with magnetism. While as-grown MnBi 2 Te 4 single crystals exhibit an A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering at T N ≈ 24 K, annealed MnBi 2 Te 4 under 10 T leads to the change of the magnetic properties from AFM to superparamagnetic behavior with the trend of the magnetization saturation at 2 K. Correspondingly, the magnetotransport properties change as well, revealing large positive magnetoresistance with the linear field dependence at low temperatures. Through the first-principles calculations, we provide insight into the experimental results. Our investigation demonstrates that magnetic annealing is a powerful approach for manipulating material properties due to the nearly degenerate ground states in MnBi 2 Te 4 .

Electronic transport

Hund’s flat band in a frustrated spinel oxide

Electronic flat bands associated with quenched kinetic energy and heavy electron mass have attracted great interest for promoting strong electronic correlations and emergent phenomena such as high-temperature charge fractionalization and superconductivity. Intense experimental and theoretical research has been devoted to establishing the rich nontrivial metallic and heavy fermion phases intertwined with such localized electronic states. Here, in this study, we investigate the transition metal oxide spinel LiV 2 O 4 , an enigmatic heavy fermion compound lacking localized f orbital states. We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and dynamical mean-field theory to reveal a kind of correlation-induced flat band with suppressed interatomic electron hopping arising from intra-atomic Hund’s coupling. The appearance of heavy quasiparticles is ascribed to a proximate orbital-selective Mott state characterized by fluctuating local moments as evidenced by complementary magnetotransport measurements. The spectroscopic fingerprints of long-lived quasiparticles and their disappearance with increasing temperature further support the emergence of a high-temperature “bad” metal state observed in transport data. This work resolves a long-standing puzzle on the origin of heavy fermion behavior and unconventional transport in LiV 2 O 4 . Simultaneously, it opens a path to achieving flat bands through electronic interactions in d-orbital systems with geometrical frustration, potentially enabling the realization of exotic phases of matter such as the fractionalized Fermi liquids.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Emergent anisotropic three-phase order in critically doped superconducting diamond films

Two decades since its discovery, superconducting heavily boron-doped diamond (HBDD) still poses fundamental questions that need to be answered to unlock its full potential for quantum applications. We use electrical magnetotransport measurements of critically doped homoepitaxial single crystal HBDD films to reveal signatures of intrinsically granular superconductivity. By studying the dependence of electrical resistivity on temperature and magnetic field vector, we infer that this granularity arises from doping induced disorder. We observe an unexpected three-phase anisotropy in the magnetoresistance, accompanied by a spontaneous transverse voltage (Hall anomaly). Our findings indicate the emergence of an anisotropic order in an otherwise isotropic single crystal HBDD film, offering insights into the mechanism of superconductivity in this quantum material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND

Fermi surface and Berry phase analysis for Dirac nodal line semimetals: Cautionary tale from SrGa 2 and BaGa 2

A Berry phase of odd multiples of 𝜋 inferred from quantum oscillations (QOs) has often been treated as evidence for nontrivial reciprocal space topology. However, disentangling the Berry phase values from the Zeeman effect and the orbital magnetic moment is often challenging. In centrosymmetric compounds, the case is simpler as the orbital magnetic moment contribution is negligible. Although the Zeeman effect can be significant, it is usually overlooked in most studies of QOs in centrosymmetric compounds. Here, we present a detailed study on the nonmagnetic centrosymmetric SrGa 2 and BaGa 2 , which are predicted to be Dirac nodal line semimetals based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Evidence of the nontrivial topology is found in magnetotransport measurements. The Fermi surface topology and band structure are carefully studied through a combination of angle-dependent QOs, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and DFT calculations, where the nodal line is observed in the vicinity of the Fermi level. Strong de Haas–van Alphen fundamental oscillations associated with higher harmonics are observed in both compounds, which are well fitted by the Lifshitz-Kosevich (LK) formula. However, even with the inclusion of higher harmonics in the fitting, we found that the Berry phases cannot be unambiguously determined when the Zeeman effect is included. We revisit the LK formula and analyze the phenomena and outcomes that were associated with the Zeeman effect in previous studies. Our experimental results confirm that SrGa 2 and BaGa 2 are Dirac nodal line semimetals. Additionally, we highlight the often overlooked role of spin-damping terms in Berry phase analysis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

High magnetic field response of superconductivity dome in quantum artificial high−⁢𝑇 𝐶 superlattices with variable geometry

It is known that cuprate artificial high-𝑇 𝐶 superlattices (AHTS) with period 𝑑, composed of quantum wells confining interface space charge in stoichiometric Mott insulator layers (𝑆), with thickness 𝐿, at the interface with overdoped normal metallic cuprate layers (𝑁) show a superconducting dome by tuning the geometric 𝐿 over 𝑑 ratio of the SNSN superlattice with the top predicted by quantum material design engineering quantum size effects. Here we report high-field magnetotransport measurements up to 41 Tesla of AHTS across the entire superconducting dome. The results show the universal upward-concave behavior of the temperature-dependent upper critical magnetic field in low-𝑇 𝐶 samples at the rising edge and drop edge of the dome, providing strong evidence consistent with two-band superconductivity in agreement with multigap theory used for quantum design of the SNSN superlattices. The measured superconducting coherence length demonstrates that atomic-scale engineering controls not only the critical temperature but also the intrinsic pair size at Fano-Feshbach resonances physics paving the way toward next-generation quantum devices and shedding light on unconventional superconductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND

Impact of Tiny Fermi Pockets with Extremely High Mobility on the Hall Anomaly in the Kagome Metal CsV 3 ⁢Sb 5

The kagome metal CsV 3 ⁢Sb 5 exhibits an unusual charge-density-wave (CDW) order, where the emergence of loop current order that breaks time-reversal symmetry (TRS) has been proposed. A key feature of this CDW phase is a nonmonotonic Hall effect at low fields, often attributed to TRS breaking. However, its origin remains unclear. Here, we conduct comprehensive magnetotransport measurements on CsV 3 ⁢Sb 5 and, through mobility spectrum analysis, identify the formation of tiny Fermi pockets with extremely high mobility below the CDW transition. Furthermore, electron irradiation experiments reveal that the nonmonotonic Hall effect is significantly suppressed in samples with reduced mobility, despite no substantial change in the electronic structure. In conclusion, these results indicate that the nonmonotonic Hall effect originates from these tiny Fermi pockets with high mobility carriers rather than anomalous Hall mechanisms, providing new insights into understanding the Hall anomaly in this kagome system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Electronic correlations and topology in Kondo insulator PuB 6

Utilizing a combination of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) and density functional theory, it has been theoretically proposed that PuB 6 is a strongly correlated topological insulator characterized by nontrivial 𝐙 2 topological invariants and metallic surface states [X. Deng et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 176404 (2013)]. Here, we demonstrate through low-temperature magnetotransport measurements and first-principles calculations that PuB 6 exhibits characteristics of a topological Kondo insulating state. These features include a transition in electrical resistivity from high-temperature, thermally activated behavior with a narrow gap at the Fermi level (Δ⁢𝜌 ∼ 20 meV) to a distinctive low-temperature plateau, as well as a surface-to-volume dependence of electrical resistivity at low temperatures. The topological nature of PuB 6 is further supported by the theoretical calculations, which show that GGA + 𝑈 is capable of capturing electronic, topological, and lattice properties of PuB 6 with much lower computational cost than DMFT.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE