Temperature-invariant magneto-optical Kerr effect in noncollinear antiferromagnet
Abstract
Noncollinear antiferromagnets exhibit anomalous Hall and magneto-optical Kerr effects driven by Berry curvature despite negligible net magnetization, promising ultrafast spintronic applications. While both effects are theoretically expected to reveal the intrinsic Berry curvature that serves as a spintronic memory bit, their quantitative interpretation is complicated by additional temperature-dependent contributions superimposed on the magnetic order parameter: extrinsic skew scattering in dc Hall transport, and optical-resonance effects in visible-wavelength Kerr measurements. Here we perform polar Kerr measurements at the infrared telecommunication wavelength (1550 nm) on epitaxial, stoichiometric ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}\mathrm{NiN}$ single-crystal films, revealing a spontaneous Kerr signal that remains stable within a few percent over a 200 K range below the N\'eel temperature. This temperature-invariant intrinsic Kerr response contrasts with the strongly temperature-dependent anomalous Hall effect in the same sample dominated by extrinsic skew scattering. Our findings establish infrared Kerr effect as a robust, local probe of Berry curvature in noncollinear antiferromagnets, enabling quantitative characterization and advancing antiferromagnetic spintronic technologies.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Magnetic properties of thin films
Topological Materials and Phenomena
2D Materials and Applications
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical Review Materials
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 7
- Publication date
- 16 July 2026
- Language
- EN