Time-Dependent Multistate Switching of Topological Antiferromagnetic Order in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"><mml:msub><mml:mi>Mn</mml:mi><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:mi>Sn</mml:mi></mml:math>
Gunasheel Kauwtilyaa Krishnaswamy, Giacomo Sala, B. J. Jacot, Charles‐Henri Lambert, Richard Schlitz, Marta D. Rossell, Paul Noël, Pietro Gambardella
Abstract
Noncollinear antiferromagnets (AFMs) with topological electronic properties attract great interest, as they allow for all-electrical readout and manipulation of AFM order. The mechanisms and timescales to reverse AFM order are not known, though. In this study of current-driven switching of chiral AFM order in the classic Weyl semimetal Mn${}_{3}$Sn, time-resolved measurements show that switching is incoherent and occurs over several nanoseconds, owing to self-heating and then cooling of AFM domains in the presence of a Pt overlayer. These results unravel the spin dynamics of chiral AFMs and highlight the possibility of multilevel switching based on the temporal profile of current pulses.