Ionic Tuning of Magneto-Transport in Noncollinear Antiferromagnet Mn₃NiN Thin Film

Antiferromagnets are promising alternatives to ferromagnets for next-generation spintronic devices due to their negligible stray fields and ultrafast spin dynamics [1]. Among them, the noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn₃NiN has recently attracted considerable interest for its unique symmetry-enabled transport properties. We have sputtered textured Mn₃NiN thin films on Si substrate using an ionically-driven synthesis method with varying nitrogen content [2, 3], confirmed with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Magneto-transport measurements reveal a large anomalous Hall effect below the Néel temperature, despite having negligible magnetization, consistent with the Berry curvature permitted by the Γ^4g noncollinear order [4]. Furthermore, both the Néel temperature and the transport properties can be tuned by varying the nitrogen content in Mn₃NiN, demonstrating controllable antiferromagnetic order via ionic modulation. These findings establish a new route to engineer and control antiferromagnetic transport in Mn₃NiN, advancing its potential for tunable and energy-efficient spintronic devices.

[1]. B. H. Rimmler et al., Nat. Rev. Mater. 10, 109 (2025)

[2]. Z. Chen et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 123, 082403 (2023)

[3]. Z. Chen et al., ACS Nano 19, 20072 (2025)

[4]. G. Gurung et al., Phys. Rev. Mater. 3,044409 (2019)