Giant Periodic Pseudomagnetic Fields in Strained Kagome Magnet FeSn Epitaxial Films on SrTiO₃(111) Substrate

Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Quantum materials, particularly Dirac materials with linearly dispersing bands, can be effectively tuned by strain-induced lattice distortions leading to a pseudomagnetic field that strongly modulates their electronic properties. Here, we grow kagome magnet FeSn films, consisting of alternatingly stacked Sn 2 honeycomb (stanene) and Fe 3 Sn kagome layers, on SrTiO 3 (111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, we show that the Sn honeycomb layer can be periodically deformed by epitaxial strain for a film thickness below 10 nm, resulting in differential conductance peaks consistent with Landau levels generated by a pseudomagnetic field greater than 1000 T. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of strain engineering the electronic properties of topological magnets at the nanoscale.