Challenges to magnetic doping of thin films of the Dirac semimetal Cd3As2

Magnetic doping of topological quantum materials provides an attractive route for studying the effects of time reversal symmetry breaking. Thus motivated, we explore the introduction of the transition metal Mn into thin films of the Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 during growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements show the formation of a Mn-rich phase at the top surface of Mn-doped Cd3As2 thin films grown using both uniform doping and delta doping. This suggests that Mn acts as a surfactant during epitaxial growth of Cd3As2, resulting in phase separation. Magnetometry measurements of such samples indicate a ferromagnetic phase with out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. Electrical magneto-transport measurements of these films as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and chemical potential reveal a lower carrier density and higher electron mobility compared with pristine Cd3As2 films grown under similar conditions. This suggests that the surfactant effect might also serve to remove impurities from the bulk of the film. We observe robust quantum transport (Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and an incipient integer quantum Hall effect) in very thin (7 nm) Cd3As2 films despite being in direct contact with a structurally disordered surface ferromagnetic overlayer.

Automated summary

Magnetic doping of topological quantum materials provides an attractive method for studying the effects of time reversal symmetry breaking. The introduction of transition metal Mn into Cd3As2 films shows the formation of a Mn-rich phase at the top surface, indicating that Mn acts as a surfactant during epitaxial growth of Cd3As2.