Rice University physicists tune electron flow in manganese telluride under uniaxial strain
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In a study published in Physical Review X, Rice University physicists applied uniaxial strain to manganese telluride and resolved the altermagnet's intrinsic single-domain magnetic structure. The strain exposed a sharp change in the anomalous Hall signal and, at about 230 K, reversed electron flow to switch the effect's polarity.
Single-Domain Resolution
Rice University physicists led by Pengcheng Dai reported in Physical Review X the first successful isolation of hexagonal manganese telluride into a single magnetic-domain state. Manganese telluride typically forms multidomain structures in which equivalent domains spin in different directions to satisfy the threefold rotational symmetry of the hexagonal lattice. Applying uniaxial strain in one direction eliminated overlapping domain signals and allowed the team to resolve the material's intrinsic magnetic structure. Co-first authors Sijie Xu and Zhaoyu Liu contributed to the measurements.
Anomalous Hall Polarity Reversal
The strain resolved a sharp feature in the anomalous Hall signal, a lateral voltage generated when an electrical current flows through the material due to its magnetic structure. At approximately 230 K (-45°F), tuning the strain reversed the electron flow and switched the anomalous Hall effect from one polarity to another. Dai said this polarity reversal through strain is not typical of magnets. The result suggests uniaxial strain can act as a control for charge flow in altermagnets.
What's Next
Further work will be needed to test whether the uniaxial strain effect persists in thin films or device-scale structures. It remains unclear how quickly altermagnetic materials could move from laboratory measurements to spin-transport applications.
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Rice University physicists tune electron flow in manganese telluride under uniaxial strain
