Large Unidirectional Magnetoresistance in a Magnetic Topological Insulator

We report current-direction dependent or unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) in magnetic or nonmagnetic topological insulator (TI) heterostructures, Cr_{x}(Bi_{1-y}Sb_{y})_{2-x}Te_{3}/(Bi_{1-y}Sb_{y})_{2}Te_{3}, that is several orders of magnitude larger than in other reported systems. From the m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 117; no. 12; p. 127202
Main Authors Yasuda, K, Tsukazaki, A, Yoshimi, R, Takahashi, K S, Kawasaki, M, Tokura, Y
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 16.09.2016
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:We report current-direction dependent or unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) in magnetic or nonmagnetic topological insulator (TI) heterostructures, Cr_{x}(Bi_{1-y}Sb_{y})_{2-x}Te_{3}/(Bi_{1-y}Sb_{y})_{2}Te_{3}, that is several orders of magnitude larger than in other reported systems. From the magnetic field and temperature dependence, the UMR is identified to originate from the asymmetric scattering of electrons by magnons. In particular, the large magnitude of UMR is an outcome of spin-momentum locking and a small Fermi wave number at the surface of TI. In fact, the UMR is maximized around the Dirac point with the minimal Fermi wave number.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.117.127202