Magnetic and electronic phase transitions probed by nanomechanical resonators

The reduced dimensionality of two-dimensional (2D) materials results in characteristic types of magnetically and electronically ordered phases. However, only few methods are available to study this order, in particular in ultrathin insulating antiferromagnets that couple weakly to magnetic and elect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2020-06, Vol.11 (1), p.2698-2698, Article 2698
Main Authors: Šiškins, Makars, Lee, Martin, Mañas-Valero, Samuel, Coronado, Eugenio, Blanter, Yaroslav M., van der Zant, Herre S. J., Steeneken, Peter G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/766/119/2795
639/766/930/12
639/925/357/1018
Anomalies
Antiferromagnetism
Charge density waves
Humanities and Social Sciences
Mechanical analysis
multidisciplinary
Phase transitions
Q factors
Resonators
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Specific heat
Temperature dependence
Thermodynamic properties
Two dimensional materials
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Summary:The reduced dimensionality of two-dimensional (2D) materials results in characteristic types of magnetically and electronically ordered phases. However, only few methods are available to study this order, in particular in ultrathin insulating antiferromagnets that couple weakly to magnetic and electronic probes. Here, we demonstrate that phase transitions in thin membranes of 2D antiferromagnetic FePS 3 , MnPS 3 and NiPS 3 can be probed mechanically via the temperature-dependent resonance frequency and quality factor. The observed relation between mechanical motion and antiferromagnetic order is shown to be mediated by the specific heat and reveals a strong dependence of the Néel temperature of FePS 3 on electrostatically induced strain. The methodology is not restricted to magnetic order, as we demonstrate by probing an electronic charge-density-wave phase in 2H-TaS 2 . It thus offers the potential to characterize phase transitions in a wide variety of materials, including those that are antiferromagnetic, insulating or so thin that conventional bulk characterization methods become unsuitable. Electronics and magnetic phase transitions typically do not involve mechanical degrees of freedom directly, but their impact on thermodynamic properties affects the mechanical response of a material. Here the authors show that resonators made from 2D materials exhibit anomalies at phase transitions.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-16430-2