Visualization of antiferromagnetic domains by nonreciprocal directional dichroism and related optical responses

Abstract

Nonreciprocal directional dichroism (NDD) is a phenomenon in which the optical absorption is changed by reversing the direction of light propagation or the sign of the magnetic order parameters. While the NDD has mostly been observed in materials with macroscopic magnetization, recent experiments have shown that the NDD can be induced by a specific antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin structure that breaks both space-inversion and time-reversal symmetries. This opens the possibility of visualizing the spatial distribution of AFM domains via the NDD effect. This article reviews the basic features of the NDD, a brief history of the NDD in AFM materials, and recent achievements in visualizing AFM domains via the NDD and related optical responses, and finally provides a perspective on applications of this method for future AFM spintronics research.