Temperature-invariant magneto-optical Kerr effect in noncollinear antiferromagnet

Noncollinear antiferromagnets exhibit anomalous Hall and magneto-optical Kerr effects driven by Berry curvature despite negligible net magnetization, promising ultrafast spintronic applications. While both effects are theoretically expected to reveal the intrinsic Berry curvature that serves as a spintronic memory bit, their quantitative interpretation is complicated by additional temperature-dependent contributions superimposed on the magnetic order parameter: extrinsic skew scattering in dc Hall transport, and optical-resonance effects in visible-wavelength Kerr measurements. Here we perform polar Kerr measurements at the infrared telecommunication wavelength (1550 nm) on epitaxial, stoichiometric ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}\mathrm{NiN}$ single-crystal films, revealing a spontaneous Kerr signal that remains stable within a few percent over a 200 K range below the N\'eel temperature. This temperature-invariant intrinsic Kerr response contrasts with the strongly temperature-dependent anomalous Hall effect in the same sample dominated by extrinsic skew scattering. Our findings establish infrared Kerr effect as a robust, local probe of Berry curvature in noncollinear antiferromagnets, enabling quantitative characterization and advancing antiferromagnetic spintronic technologies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Materials
Published
2026-07-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/wmh3-qf3k
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Magnetic properties of thin films
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
6.58

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article

Temperature-invariant magneto-optical Kerr effect in noncollinear antiferromagnet

Jing Xia, Hua Chen, Chang‐Beom Eom, Camron Farhang et al.
1 citations
Physical Review Materials
Magnetic properties of thin films
6.58
article

Temperature-invariant magneto-optical Kerr effect in noncollinear antiferromagnet

Jing Xia, Hua Chen, Chang‐Beom Eom, Camron Farhang, Yuchuan Yao, Jian‐Guo Zheng, Pratap Pal
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Noncollinear antiferromagnets exhibit anomalous Hall and magneto-optical Kerr effects driven by Berry curvature despite negligible net magnetization, promising ultrafast spintronic applications. While both effects are theoretically expected to reveal the intrinsic Berry curvature that serves as a spintronic memory bit, their quantitative interpretation is complicated by additional temperature-dependent contributions superimposed on the magnetic order parameter: extrinsic skew scattering in dc Hall transport, and optical-resonance effects in visible-wavelength Kerr measurements. Here we perform polar Kerr measurements at the infrared telecommunication wavelength (1550 nm) on epitaxial, stoichiometric ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}\mathrm{NiN}$ single-crystal films, revealing a spontaneous Kerr signal that remains stable within a few percent over a 200 K range below the N\'eel temperature. This temperature-invariant intrinsic Kerr response contrasts with the strongly temperature-dependent anomalous Hall effect in the same sample dominated by extrinsic skew scattering. Our findings establish infrared Kerr effect as a robust, local probe of Berry curvature in noncollinear antiferromagnets, enabling quantitative characterization and advancing antiferromagnetic spintronic technologies.

Physical Review MaterialsVol. 10(7)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), University of California System (US), Colorado State University (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Office of Science, Office of Naval Research, Division of Materials Research, Basic Energy Sciences
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Magnetic properties of thin films
6.58
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