• Andersen, Molly P.
• Zhang, Peng
• Rosen, Ilan T.
• Mikheev, Evgeny
• Wang, Kang L.
• Tai, Lixuan
• Kastner, Marc A.
• Goldhaber-Gordon, David

Abstract

Quantum coherence of electrons can produce striking behaviors in mesoscopic conductors. Although magnetic order can also strongly affect transport, the combination of coherence and magnetic order has been largely unexplored. Here, we examine quantum coherence-driven universal conductance fluctuations in the antiferromagnetic, canted antiferromagnetic, and ferromagnetic phases of a thin film of the topological material MnBi2Te4. In each magnetic phase, we extract a charge carrier phase coherence length of about 100 nm. The conductance magnetofingerprint is repeatable when sweeping applied magnetic field within one magnetic phase. Surprisingly, in the antiferromagnetic and canted antiferromagnetic phases, but not in the ferromagnetic phase, the magnetofingerprint depends on the direction of the field sweep. To explain our observations, we suggest that conductance fluctuation measurements are sensitive to the motion and nucleation of magnetic domain walls in MnBi2Te4.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• phase
• thin film
• magnetic domain wall