Tunable magnetotransport through kinetically hindered first-order phase transitions in an antiferromagnetic metal

Abstract

Controllable multilevel resistance states are of interest for memory technologies like neuromorphic computing, but robust materials platforms toward such behavior remain limited. Here, we show that the non-centrosymmetric antiferromagnetic metal CeCoGe$_3$ suggests one such route through a kinetically hindered first-order magnetic transition. Cooling through the kinetically hindered first-order transition in an applied magnetic field produces a magnetic glass state in which high- and low-temperature magnetic phases coexist. The relative fraction of these phases can be controlled by the applied field in which the sample is cooled, and the electrical resistance is directly sensitive to that fraction. As a result, it is demonstrated that CeCoGe$_3$ supports stable multilevel resistive states. These results identify kinetically hindered first-order phase transitions as a promising route towards controllable multilevel magnetoresistive states.