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The Synthesis of MnBi2Te4 Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator Single Crystals Through a One-Step Growth Method

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Abstract

MnBi2Te4 has been predicted and observed to be a novel antiferromagnetic topological insulator. However, the melting temperatures of MnBi2Te4 and Bi2Te3 are similar, and they cannot be easily separated. Therefore, single crystal growth techniques need to be optimized. One common method is to grow crystals from a 1:5 mixture of MnTe and Bi2Te3 precursors, but directly mixing Mn, Bi, and Te powders in a stoichiometric ratio has also been implemented experimentally. In this work, we successfully grew high-quality MnBi2Te4 single crystals with a one-step growth method, providing a simpler method and a shorter growth time for high-quality single crystals. The optimized crystal growth condition was using a cooling rate of 0.5 °C/h in the second cooling stage. Different measurements indicated that the synthesized crystals were pure and composed of MnBi2Te4. Furthermore, magnetotransport measurements showed that the AFM phase transition occurred at TN = 25.6 K.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Superconductivity and New Energy R&D Center, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    S. Yu, K. Zhao, X. S. Yang & Y. Zhao

  2. School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    S. Yu

  3. College of Physics and Energy, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, China

    Y. Zhao

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  1. S. Yu
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  2. K. Zhao
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Correspondence to X. S. Yang.

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Yu, S., Zhao, K., Yang, X.S. et al. The Synthesis of MnBi2Te4 Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator Single Crystals Through a One-Step Growth Method. J Supercond Nov Magn 35, 1221–1228 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10948-022-06175-y

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