Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2025

Optimizing Magnetic Force Microscopy Resolution and Sensitivity to Visualize Nanoscale Magnetic Domains
Published on: July 20, 2022
Modulating Nanometric Spin Spiral States via Spontaneous Lattice Distortion in a Short Period Helimagnet MnCoSi
Bei Ding1,2, Shouzhe Dong3, Yurong You4
1Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
Abstract:
We report the influence of spontaneous lattice distortion on the helical spin spiral states in centrosymmetric helimagnet MnCoSi. With the help of in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, we observed significant distortion─up to 57%─in the helical spin order of MnCoSi thin lamella samples. Our analysis, integrating density functional theory calculations with micromagnetic simulations, confirmed that the spontaneous lattice distortion is induced by the variation in the specimen thickness, which therefore modulates the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction J1 and the next-nearest-neighbor exchange interaction J2, leading to a change in the spin rotational periodicity. Notably, such a spontaneous lattice distortion can also reduce the critical temperature of the magnetic transition from helix to cycloid. Our findings introduce an additional degree of freedom to effectively tailor the magnetic properties of helimagnets, thereby expanding the possibilities within the emerging field of strain-manipulated spintronics.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Spin–Spin Coupling Constant: Overview
Qualitatively, any spin plus-half nucleus polarizes the spins of its electrons to the minus-half state. Consequently, the paired electron in the hydrogen–carbon bond must...
Ferromagnetism
Valence Bond Theory

