Intertwined Topological and Magnetic Orders in Atomically Thin Chern Insulator MnBi2Te4

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c05117
• Publication Date: 2021-03-12T18:13:41Z
• Authors: Dmitry Ovchinnikov; Xiong Huang; Zhong Lin; Zaiyao Fei; Jiaqi Cai; Tiancheng Song; Minhao He; Qianni Jiang; Chong Wang; Hao Li; Yayu Wang; Yang Wu; Di Xiao; Jiun-Haw Chu; Jiaqiang Yan; Cui-Zu Chang; Yong-Tao Cui; Xiaodong Xu
• Keywords: Topological insulator

MnBi2Te4, a van der Waals magnet, is an emergent platform for exploring Chern insulator physics. Its layered antiferromagnetic order was predicted to enable even–odd layer number dependent topological states. Furthermore, it becomes when all spins are aligned by applied magnetic field. However, the evolution of bulk electronic structure as state continuously tuned and its dependence on remains unexplored. Here, employing multimodal probes, we establish one-to-one correspondence between structure, state, order, thickness in atomically thin MnBi2Te4 devices. As through canted phase, observe band crossing, i.e., closing reopening gap, corresponding concurrent phase transition both even- odd-layer-number Our findings shed new light interplay topology this newly discovered magnet.