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Acharya, Gokul

Publications and source records attributed to Acharya, Gokul.

10 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Insulator‐to‐Metal Transition and Isotropic Gigantic Magnetoresistance in Layered Magnetic Semiconductors

Magnetotransport, the response of electrical conduction to external magnetic field, acts as an important tool to reveal fundamental concepts behind exotic phenomena and plays a key role in enabling spintronic applications. Magnetotransport is generally sensitive to magnetic field orientations. In contrast, efficient and isotropic modulation of electronic transport, which is useful in technology applications such as omnidirectional sensing, is rarely seen, especially for pristine crystals. Here a strategy is proposed to realize extremely strong modulation of electron conduction by magnetic field which is independent of field direction. GdPS, a layered antiferromagnetic semiconductor with resistivity anisotropies, supports a field-driven insulator-to-metal transition with a paradoxically isotropic gigantic negative magnetoresistance insensitive to magnetic field orientations. This isotropic magnetoresistance originates from the combined effects of a near-zero spin–orbit coupling of Gd 3+ -based half-filling ƒ-electron system and the strong on-site f – d exchange coupling in Gd atoms. These results not only provide a novel material system with extraordinary magnetotransport that offers a missing block for antiferromagnet-based ultrafast and efficient spintronic devices, but also demonstrate the key ingredients for designing magnetic materials with desired transport properties for advanced functionalities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evolution of magnetism in the magnetic topological semimetal NdSb x Te 2–x+δ

Magnetic topological semimetals LnSbTe (Ln = Lanthanide) have attracted intensive attention because of the presence of interplay between magnetism, topological, and electron correlations depending on the choices of magnetic Ln elements. Recently, varying Sb-Te composition has been found to effectively control the electronic and magnetic states in LnSb x Te 2-x . Here, with this motivation, we report the evolution of magnetic properties with Sb-Te substitution in NdSb x Te 2-x+δ , (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). Our work reveals the interesting non-monotonic change in magnetic ordering temperature with varying composition stoichiometry. In addition, reducing the Sb content x drives the reorientation of moments from in-plane (ab-plane) to out-of-plane (c-axis) direction that results in the distinct magnetic structures for two end compounds NdTe 2 (x = 0) and NdSbTe (x = 1). Furthermore, the moment orientation in NdSb x Te 2-x+δ is also found to be strongly tunable upon application of weak magnetic field, leading to rich magnetic phases depending on the composition stoichiometry, temperature, and magnetic field. Such strong tuning of magnetism in this material establishes it as a promising platform for investigating tunable topological states and correlated topological physics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Field-induced spin polarization in the lightly Cr-substituted layered antiferromagnet NiP S 3

Tuning magnetic properties in layered magnets is an important route to realize novel phenomenon related to two-dimensional (2D) magnetism. Recently, tuning antiferromagnetic (AFM) properties through substitution and intercalation techniques has been widely studied in MPX 3 compounds. Interesting phenomena, such as diverse AFM structures and even the signatures of ferrimagnetism, have been reported. However, long-range ferromagnetic (FM) ordering has remained elusive. Here, in this work, we explored the magnetic properties of the Cr-substituted NiP S 3 . We found that Cr substitution is extremely efficient in controlling spin orientation in NiP S 3 . Our study reveals a field-induced spin polarization in lightly (9%) Cr-substituted NiP S 3 , which is likely attributed to the attenuation of AFM interactions and magnetic anisotropy due to Cr doping. Our work provides a possible strategy to achieve FM phase in AFM MPX 3 , which could be useful for investigating 2D magnetism as well as potential device applications.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2024

Distinct Composition‐Dependent Topological Hall Effect in Mn 2‐x Zn x Sb

Abstract Spintronics, an evolving interdisciplinary field at the intersection of magnetism and electronics, explores innovative applications of electron charge and spin properties for advanced electronic devices. The topological Hall effect (THE), a key component in spintronics, has gained significance due to emerging theories surrounding noncoplanar chiral spin textures. This study focuses on Mn 2‐x Zn x Sb, a material crystalizing in centrosymmetric space group with rich magnetic phases tunable by Zn contents. Through comprehensive magnetic and transport characterizations, we found that the high‐Zn ( x > 0.6) samples display THE which is enhanced with decreasing temperature, while THE in the low‐Zn ( x < 0.6) samples show an opposite trend. The coexistence of those distinct temperature dependencies for THE suggests very different magnetic interactions/structures for different compositions and underscores the strong coupling between magnetism and transport in Mn 2‐x Zn x Sb. The findings contribute to understanding topological magnetism in centrosymmetric tetragonal lattices, establishing Mn 2‐x Zn x Sb as a unique platform for exploring tunable transport effects and opening avenues for further exploration in the realm of spintronics.

Nabi, Md Rafique Un↗
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding and Tuning Magnetism in Layered Ising‐Type Antiferromagnet FePSe 3 for Potential 2D Magnet

Abstract Recent developments in 2D magnetic materials have motivated the search for new van der Waals magnetic materials, especially Ising‐type magnets with strong magnetic anisotropy. Fe‐based M P X 3 ( M = transition metal, X = chalcogen) compounds such as FePS 3 and FePSe 3 both exhibit an Ising‐type magnetic order, but FePSe 3 receives much less attention compared to FePS 3 . This work focuses on establishing the strategy to engineer magnetic anisotropy and exchange interactions in this less‐explored compound. Through chalcogen and metal substitutions, the magnetic anisotropy is found to be immune against S substitution for Se whereas tunable only with heavy Mn substitution for Fe. In particular, Mn substitution leads to a continuous rotation of magnetic moments from the out‐of‐plane direction toward the in‐plane. Furthermore, the magnetic ordering temperature displays non‐monotonic doping dependence for both chalcogen and metal substitutions but due to different mechanisms. These findings provide deeper insight into the Ising‐type magnetism in this important van der Waals material, shedding light on the study of other Ising‐type magnetic systems as well as discovering novel 2D magnets for potential applications in spintronics.

2D magnet↗
DOE OSTI2023

Single crystal growth and characterization of topological semimetal ZrSnTe

High quality single crystals are critical for experimental materials science research. ZrSnTe represents such an example. This material belongs to the ZrSiS-type topological material family, which is so far the only one in this material family possessing Fermi surface formed by Dirac bands generated by a Sn-square net. Experimental study on ZrSnTe is limited due to the difficulty in single crystal growth. Here, in this work, we report the single crystal growth for ZrSnTe using a solid-state reaction method with Sn as a flux. The roles of various growth parameters such as the molar ratio of starting materials, growth temperature and cooling rate in obtaining sizeable single crystals were investigated. The quality of the obtained single crystals was checked by elemental, structural and electronic characterizations. Our study on the growth method for ZrSnTe would enable the future study on this less explored topological semimetal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Giant topological Hall effect in centrosymmetric tetragonal Mn 2–x Zn x Sb

Topological magnetism typically appears in noncentrosymmetric compounds or compounds with geometric frustration. Here, we report the effective tuning of magnetism in centrosymmetric tetragonal Mn 2–x Zn x Sb by Zn substitution. The magnetism is found to be closely coupled to the transport properties, giving rise to a very large topological Hall effect with fine-tuning of Zn content, which even persists to high temperature (~250K). The further magnetoentropic analysis suggests that the topological Hall effect is possibly associated with topological magnetism. Furthermore, our finding suggests Mn 2–x Zn x S is a candidate material for a centrosymmetric tetragonal topological magnetic system, offering opportunities for studying and tuning spin textures and developing near room temperature spin-based devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetic Topological Semimetal Phase with Electronic Correlation Enhancement in SmSbTe

The ZrSiS family of compounds hosts various exotic quantum phenomena due to the presence of both topological nonsymmorphic Dirac fermions and nodal-line fermions. In this material family, the LnSbTe (Ln = lanthanide) compounds are particularly interesting owing to the intrinsic magnetism from magnetic Ln which leads to new properties and quantum states. Here in this work, the authors focus on the previously unexplored compound SmSbTe. The studies reveal a rare combination of a few functional properties in this material, including antiferromagnetism with possible magnetic frustration, electron correlation enhancement, and Dirac nodal-line fermions. These properties enable SmSbTe as a unique platform to explore exotic quantum phenomena and advanced functionalities arising from the interplay between magnetism, topology, and electronic correlations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electronic and magnetic properties of the topological semimetal candidate NdSbTe

ZrSiS-type materials represent a large material family with unusual coexistence of topological nonsymmorphic Dirac fermions and nodal-line fermions. As a special group of ZrSiS family, Ln SbTe ( L n = lanthanide rare - earth ) compounds provide a unique opportunity to explore new quantum phases due to the intrinsic magnetism induced by Ln . Here we report the single-crystal growth and characterization of NdSbTe, a previously unexplored Ln SbTe compound. NdSbTe has an antiferromagnetic ground state with field-driven metamagnetic transitions similar to other known Ln SbTe , but exhibits distinct enhanced electronic correlations characterized by large a Sommerfeld coefficient of 115 mJ / mol K 2 , which is the highest among the known Ln SbTe compounds. Furthermore, our transport studies have revealed the coupling with magnetism and signatures of Kondo localization. All these findings establish NdSbTe as a platform for observing phenomena arising from the interplay between magnetism, topology, and electron correlations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗