TY - JOUR
T1 - Domain imaging across the magneto-structural phase transitions in Fe1+y Te
AU - Warmuth, Jonas
AU - Bremholm, Martin
AU - Hofmann, Philip
AU - Wiebe, Jens
AU - Wiesendanger, Roland
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - The investigation of the magnetic phase transitions in the parent compounds of Fe-based superconductors is regarded essential for an understanding of the pairing mechanism in the related superconducting compounds. Even though the chemical and electronic properties of these materials are often strongly inhomogeneous on a nanometer length scale, studies of the magnetic phase transitions using spatially resolved experimental techniques are still scarce. Here, we present a real space spin-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy investigation of the surface of Fe1+y Te single crystals with different excess Fe content, y, which are continuously driven through the magnetic phase transition. For Fe1.08Te, the transition into the low-Temperature monoclinic phase is accompanied by the appearance of a chevron-patterned structural ordering due to the four 90° rotational domains of the monoclinic lattice. Each of the structural domains contains locally commensurate nanoscale diagonal double stripe antiferromagnetic spin order domains with π-phase slips accross domain boundaries. In the low-Temperature phase of Fe1.12Te, on the other hand, the chevron pattern gets rather narrow and less well-defined, and an additional 90° rotated component of the spin-order with local plaquette order emerges. The simultaneous imaging of spin and structural order we show here gives valuable insights into the nature of the magneto-structural domains of Fe1+y Te near the tricritical point, which presumably add to the understanding of the mechanism of superconductivity in the related Fe1+y Te x Se1-x material.
AB - The investigation of the magnetic phase transitions in the parent compounds of Fe-based superconductors is regarded essential for an understanding of the pairing mechanism in the related superconducting compounds. Even though the chemical and electronic properties of these materials are often strongly inhomogeneous on a nanometer length scale, studies of the magnetic phase transitions using spatially resolved experimental techniques are still scarce. Here, we present a real space spin-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy investigation of the surface of Fe1+y Te single crystals with different excess Fe content, y, which are continuously driven through the magnetic phase transition. For Fe1.08Te, the transition into the low-Temperature monoclinic phase is accompanied by the appearance of a chevron-patterned structural ordering due to the four 90° rotational domains of the monoclinic lattice. Each of the structural domains contains locally commensurate nanoscale diagonal double stripe antiferromagnetic spin order domains with π-phase slips accross domain boundaries. In the low-Temperature phase of Fe1.12Te, on the other hand, the chevron pattern gets rather narrow and less well-defined, and an additional 90° rotated component of the spin-order with local plaquette order emerges. The simultaneous imaging of spin and structural order we show here gives valuable insights into the nature of the magneto-structural domains of Fe1+y Te near the tricritical point, which presumably add to the understanding of the mechanism of superconductivity in the related Fe1+y Te x Se1-x material.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045946398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41535-018-0096-1
DO - 10.1038/s41535-018-0096-1
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85045946398
SN - 2397-4648
VL - 3
JO - npj Quantum Materials
JF - npj Quantum Materials
IS - 1
M1 - 21
ER -