Piezomagnetic switching of the anomalous Hall effect in an antiferromagnet at room temperature

Piezomagnetism couples strain linearly to magnetic order, implying that it can produce and control magnetization. However, unlike magnetostriction, which couples magnetization quadratically to strain, it enables bidirectional control of a net magnetic moment. If this effect becomes large at room temperature, it may be technologically relevant, similar to its electric analogue, piezoelectricity. However, current studies of the piezomagnetic effect have been primarily restricted to antiferromagnetic insulators at cryogenic temperatures. Here we report the observation of large piezomagnetism in the antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn at room temperature. This material is known for its nearly magnetization-free anomalous Hall effect. We find that a small uniaxial strain on the order of 0.1% can control both the sign and size of the anomalous Hall effect. Our experiment and theory show that the piezomagnetism can control the anomalous Hall effect, which will be useful for spintronics applications. Control of magnetization is important for applications in spintronics. Now, the piezomagnetic effect allows strain to control the anomalous Hall effect in a metal at room temperature by rotating its antiferromagnetic order.

Automated summary

Piezomagnetism is a linear coupling between strain and magnetic order, enabling the control of magnetization. This study reports the observation of large piezomagnetism at room temperature in an antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal, which allows strain to control the anomalous Hall effect. This finding has the potential for spintronics applications.