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We report an electronic magnetization measurement of a quantum point contact (QPC) based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We find that NMR signals can be detected by measuring the QPC conductance under in-plane magnetic fields. This makes it possible to measure, from Knight shifts of the NMR spectra, the electronic magnetization of a QPC containing only a few electron spins. The magnetization changes smoothly with the QPC potential barrier height and peaks at the conductance plateau of 0.5 × 2e2/h. The observed features are well captured by a model calculation assuming a smooth potential barrier, supporting a no bound state origin of the 0.7 structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instability of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect has been studied as a function of the electric current and temperature in ferromagnetic topological insulator thin films. We find that a characteristic current for the breakdown of the QAH effect is roughly proportional to the Hall-bar width, indicating that the Hall electric field is relevant to the breakdown. We also find that electron transport is dominated by variable range hopping (VRH) at low temperatures. Combining the current and temperature dependences of the conductivity in the VRH regime, the localization length of the QAH state is evaluated to be about 5μm. The long localization length suggests a marginally insulating nature of the QAH state due to a large number of in-gap states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum-relativistic materials often host electronic phenomena with exotic spatial distributions. In particular, quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators feature topological boundary currents whose chirality is determined by the magnetization orientation. However, understanding the microscopic nature of edge vs. bulk currents has remained a challenge due to the emergence of multidomain states at the phase transitions. Here we use microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) to directly image chiral edge currents and phase transitions in a magnetic topological insulator. Our images reveal a dramatic change in the edge state structure and an unexpected microwave response at the topological phase transition between the Chern number N=1 and N=-1 states, consistent with the emergence of an insulating N=0 state. The magnetic transition width is independent of film thickness, but the transition pattern is distinct in differently initiated field sweeps. This behavior suggests that the N=0 state has 2 surface states with Hall conductivities of 1/2e²/h but with opposite signs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a proximity-driven large anomalous Hall effect in all-telluride heterostructures consisting of the ferromagnetic insulator Cr2Ge2Te6 and topological insulator (Bi,Sb)2Te3. Despite small magnetization in the (Bi,Sb)2Te3 layer, the anomalous Hall conductivity reaches a large value of 0.2e²/h in accord with a ferromagnetic response of the Cr2Ge2Te6. The results show that the exchange coupling between the surface state of the topological insulator and the proximitized Cr2Ge2Te6 layer is effective and strong enough to open the sizable exchange gap in the surface state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]