Giant Topological Hall Effect in the Noncollinear Phase of Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator...

Magnetic topological insulators provide an important platform for realizing several exotic quantum phenomena, such as the axion insulating state and the quantum anomalous Hall effect, owing to the interplay between topology and magnetism. MnBi₄Te₇ is a two-dimensional Z₂ antiferromagnetic (AFM) topological insulator with a Néel temperature of ∼13 K. In AFM materials, the topological Hall effect (THE) is observed owing to the existence of nontrivial spin structures. A material with noncollinearity that develops in the AFM phase rather than at the onset of the AFM order is particularly important. In this study, we observed that such an unanticipated THE starts to develop in a MnBi₄Te₇ single crystal when the magnetic field is rotated away from the easy axis (c-axis) of the system. Furthermore, the THE resistivity reaches a giant value of ∼7 μΩ-cm at 2 K when the angle between the magnetic field and the c-axis is 75°. This value is significantly higher than the values for previously reported systems with noncoplanar structures. The THE can be ascribed to the noncoplanar spin structure resulting from the canted state during the spin-flip transition in the ground AFM state of MnBi₄Te₇. The large THE at a relatively low applied field makes the MnBi₄Te₇ system a potential candidate for spintronic applications.