SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT
Experiments at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) showed how magnetic Co atoms sandwiched between TaS2 layers reshape the material’s electronic structure.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT
Understanding how unusual magnetic order influences electron movements in new quantum materials like CoxTaS2 could guide their use in advanced quantum technologies.
Tracing the electronic fingerprints of exotic magnetism
Van der Waals magnets that have layered structures offer a unique platform for exploring novel quantum states and their underlying physics. To discover how to harness their properties for use in next-generation electronics and data storage technologies, researchers are working to identify the electronic fingerprints of the exotic magnetic features in systems such as CoxTaS2.
CoxTaS2 belongs to a class of van der Waals magnets called magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). In these structures, magnetic atoms (cobalt, Co) are inserted between layers of a two-dimensional semiconductor (2H-TaS2). At extremely low temperatures, the cobalt atoms develop a very unusual non-coplanar magnetic order which researchers believe is responsible for the material’s exotic properties. In particular, they suspect that the unusual magnetism strongly influences how electrons move.
In this study, a group of researchers led by UC Berkeley, in collaboration with ALS scientists, aimed to reveal spectroscopic evidence of how magnetic order changes the behavior of itinerant electrons in CoxTaS2.
Read more on the ALS website
Image: Left: From a top-down view, the magnetic structure of the cobalt lattice has four spin sublattices. Right: These spin sublattices form a tetrahedron, giving rise to the material’s unique out-of-plane magnetic order.