Atomic Layer Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Kagome Magnet RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ (R = Er, Tb) Thin Films

Abstract

Kagome lattices have garnered substantial interest because their band structure consists of topological flat bands and Dirac cones. The RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ (R = rare earth) compounds are particularly interesting because of the existence of large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) which originates from the gapped Dirac cones near the Fermi level. This makes RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ an outstanding candidate for realizing the high-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect. The growth of RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ thin films is beneficial for both fundamental research and potential applications. However, most of the studies on RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ have focused on bulk crystals so far, and the synthesis of RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ thin films has not been reported so far. Here we report the atomic layer molecular beam epitaxy growth, structural and magnetic characterizations, and transport properties of ErMn$_6$Sn$_6$ and TbMn$_6$Sn$_6$ thin films. It is especially noteworthy that TbMn$_6$Sn$_6$ thin films have out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy, which is important for realizing the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Our work paves the avenue toward the control of the AHE using devices patterned from RMn$_6$Sn$_6$ thin films.