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Title: Thin films of topological Kondo insulator candidate SmB6: Strong spin-orbit torque without exclusive surface conduction

Abstract

The advent of topological insulators (TIs), a novel class of materials that harbor a metallic spin-chiral surface state coexisting with band-insulating bulk, opens up new possibilities for spintronics. One promising route is current-induced switching of an adjacent magnetic layer via spin-orbit torque (SOT), arising from the large spin-orbit coupling intrinsically possessed by TIs. The Kondo insulator SmB6 has been recently proposed to be a strongly correlated TI, supported by the observation of a metallic surface state in bulk SmB6, as evidenced by the thickness independence of the low-temperature resistance plateau. We report the synthesis of epitaxial (001) SmB6/Si thin films and a systematic thickness-dependent electrical transport study. Although the low-temperature resistance plateau is observed for all films from 50 to 500 nm in thickness, the resistance is distinctively thickness-dependent and does not support the notion of surface conduction and interior insulation. On the other hand, we demonstrate that SmB6 can generate a large SOT to switch an adjacent ferromagnetic layer, even at room temperature. The effective SOT generated from SmB6 is comparable to that from β-W, one of the strongest SOT materials.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
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  1. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States); Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Spins and Heat in Nanoscale Electronic Systems (SHINES)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1499931
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0009390; SC0012670
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Science Advances
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 4; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAAS
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Li, Yufan, Ma, Qinli, Huang, S. X., and Chien, C. L. Thin films of topological Kondo insulator candidate SmB6: Strong spin-orbit torque without exclusive surface conduction. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aap8294.
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Li, Yufan, Ma, Qinli, Huang, S. X., & Chien, C. L. Thin films of topological Kondo insulator candidate SmB6: Strong spin-orbit torque without exclusive surface conduction. United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aap8294
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Li, Yufan, Ma, Qinli, Huang, S. X., and Chien, C. L. Fri . "Thin films of topological Kondo insulator candidate SmB6: Strong spin-orbit torque without exclusive surface conduction". United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aap8294. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1499931.
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@article{osti_1499931,
title = {Thin films of topological Kondo insulator candidate SmB6: Strong spin-orbit torque without exclusive surface conduction},
author = {Li, Yufan and Ma, Qinli and Huang, S. X. and Chien, C. L.},
abstractNote = {The advent of topological insulators (TIs), a novel class of materials that harbor a metallic spin-chiral surface state coexisting with band-insulating bulk, opens up new possibilities for spintronics. One promising route is current-induced switching of an adjacent magnetic layer via spin-orbit torque (SOT), arising from the large spin-orbit coupling intrinsically possessed by TIs. The Kondo insulator SmB6 has been recently proposed to be a strongly correlated TI, supported by the observation of a metallic surface state in bulk SmB6, as evidenced by the thickness independence of the low-temperature resistance plateau. We report the synthesis of epitaxial (001) SmB6/Si thin films and a systematic thickness-dependent electrical transport study. Although the low-temperature resistance plateau is observed for all films from 50 to 500 nm in thickness, the resistance is distinctively thickness-dependent and does not support the notion of surface conduction and interior insulation. On the other hand, we demonstrate that SmB6 can generate a large SOT to switch an adjacent ferromagnetic layer, even at room temperature. The effective SOT generated from SmB6 is comparable to that from β-W, one of the strongest SOT materials.},
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aap8294},
journal = {Science Advances},
number = 1,
volume = 4,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 19 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Fri Jan 19 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aap8294
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Cited by: 19 works
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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1. Fig. 1.: Crystal structure characterization and transport properties of SmB6 thin films. (A) Crystal structure of SmB6 (top) and epitaxy relation of SmB6/Si(001). (B) Out-of-plane θ/2θ XRD of the 250-nm-thick SmB6/Si(001) film. (C) In-plane f scan of the Si(220) peak (top) and the SmB6(110) peak (bottom). (D) Temperature dependence ofmore » the sheet resistance for the 250-nm-thick film of SmB6/Si(001). Inset: Representative Arrhenius plot of Gmeasured − Gplateau as a function of 1/T for the 250-nm-thick film, from 50 to 5 K. The red curve shows the linear fitting of ln Ginsulator versus 1/T. (E) Activation energy Δ derived from the Arrhenius plot for various film thicknesses. The dashed lines denote Δ values reported in previous bulk SmB6 studies (18, 19, 35).« less
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journal, October 2011

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journal, December 2013

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  • Nature Communications, Vol. 4, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3991

Observation of possible topological in-gap surface states in the Kondo insulator SmB6 by photoemission
journal, December 2013

  • Jiang, J.; Li, S.; Zhang, T.
  • Nature Communications, Vol. 4, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4010

Direct observation of the spin texture in SmB6 as evidence of the topological Kondo insulator
journal, July 2014

  • Xu, N.; Biswas, P. K.; Dil, J. H.
  • Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5566

Quantum Hall effect on top and bottom surface states of topological insulator (Bi1−xSbx)2Te3 films
journal, April 2015

  • Yoshimi, R.; Tsukazaki, A.; Kozuka, Y.
  • Nature Communications, Vol. 6, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7627

Topological surface state in the Kondo insulator samarium hexaboride
journal, March 2014

  • Kim, D. J.; Xia, J.; Fisk, Z.
  • Nature Materials, Vol. 13, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1038/nmat3913

Magnetization switching through giant spin–orbit torque in a magnetically doped topological insulator heterostructure
journal, April 2014

  • Fan, Yabin; Upadhyaya, Pramey; Kou, Xufeng
  • Nature Materials, Vol. 13, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1038/nmat3973

Surface Hall Effect and Nonlocal Transport in SmB6: Evidence for Surface Conduction
journal, November 2013

  • Kim, D. J.; Thomas, S.; Grant, T.
  • Scientific Reports, Vol. 3, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep03150

Hybridization gap and Fano resonance in SmB 6
journal, March 2014

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journal, December 1979

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journal, March 2015

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journal, March 2016

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text, January 2013

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text, January 2015

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text, January 2017

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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Perfect Andreev reflection due to the Klein paradox in a topological superconducting state
    journal, June 2019

    Comparison of tetravalent cerium and terbium ions in a conserved, homoleptic imidophosphorane ligand field
    journal, January 2020

    • Rice, Natalie T.; Popov, Ivan A.; Russo, Dominic R.
    • Chemical Science, Vol. 11, Issue 24
    • DOI: 10.1039/d0sc01414a

    Electrical detection of the surface spin polarization of the candidate topological Kondo insulator Sm B 6
    journal, June 2019

    Magnetization switching using topological surface states
    journal, August 2019

    The spin Hall effect of Bi-Sb alloys driven by thermally excited Dirac-like electrons
    text, January 2019

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