Variable spin texture in Mn3Sn/Pt heterostructures revealed by magnetic circular dichroism

Abstract

Non-collinear antiferromagnets with a D019 hexagonal structure have attracted tremendous attention for their potential applications in topological spintronics. Exploring the relationship between spin texture and electronic band structure is crucial for understanding the physical nature of these chiral antiferromagnets. Here, we systematically investigated the variation of topological spin texture of the non-collinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn film using magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy. The evolution of Mn spin texture from coplanar inverted triangular structure to swirling spin texture was achieved in Mn3Sn/Pt heterostructures through introducing an interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) at room temperature. Correspondingly, unconventional zero-crossing points in energy-resolved MCD spectra as well as a gradual shift of a zero-crossing point to longer wavelength were observed. Our work provides a spin texture modulation approach via interfacial DMI and an effective non-contact magneto-optical detection method to reveal the spin texture in the non-collinear antiferromagnet/heavy metal system.