Measuring the Hall Effect in Hysteretic Materials

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Solid-state physics

Background:

• Hall effect measurements are crucial for materials discovery and characterization.
• Hysteretic materials present challenges in data processing due to non-reversible magnetic states.
• Standard data processing methods can introduce artifacts mimicking anomalous or topological Hall effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the lack of a practical reference for extracting the Hall response in hysteretic materials.
• To review and demonstrate reliable procedures for Hall effect extraction.
• To highlight the potential for artificial signals from improper data processing.

Main Methods:

• Utilized ${\mathrm{Co}}_3{\mathrm{Sn}}_2{S}_2$ single crystals as a model system.
• Reviewed and demonstrated reverse-magnetic-field reciprocity for Hall effect extraction.
• Reviewed and demonstrated antisymmetrization with respect to applied field for Hall effect extraction.
• Measured the Hall effect on ${\mathrm{CeCoGe}}_3$ to demonstrate processing artifacts.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that incorrect antisymmetrization in hysteretic materials can create artifacts.
• Showcased how improper processing on ${\mathrm{CeCoGe}}_3$ can generate artificial anomalous Hall signals.
• Validated two distinct procedures for accurate Hall effect extraction in hysteretic systems.

Conclusions:

• Accurate Hall effect extraction is critical, especially in materials with complex magnetic hysteresis.
• The reviewed methods are generic and applicable to a wide range of conductors.
• Proper data processing is essential to avoid misinterpretation of Hall effect measurements.