Defect Control via Cu Enrichment Enhances Multifunctional Properties in the Polar Semiconductor Cu1+xMn1-ySiTe3

Abstract

Polar materials have recently attracted significant interest due to their rich multifunctional properties. The chalcogenide polar semiconductor Cu1-xMn1+ySiTe3 (Cu-deficient) is an emerging multiferroic system in which electric polarization is coupled to magnetization. However, its macroscopic ferroelectric polarization is strongly suppressed due to the presence of a high density of stacking faults. In this work, we demonstrate that these crystal defects, likely originating from non-stoichiometry, can be substantially reduced by increasing the Cu content. Cu-enriched samples, Cu1+xMn1-ySiTe3, crystallize in a noncentrosymmetric monoclinic structure (space group Pm) as the Cu-deficient counterpart but show a nearly stacking-fault-free phase, which is attributed to the emergence of an interstitial site. Consequently, the Cu-enriched samples show a pronounced enhancement of the second-harmonic generation (SHG) response compared to Cu-deficient compositions. Magnetically, the Cu-enriched crystals retain long-range antiferromagnetic order with a Neel temperature of TN ~ 33 K without a glassy state but manifest a distinct spin-flop transition along the polar b-axis that is absent in the Cu-deficient compositions. Furthermore, the electronic ground state evolves from insulating to doped semiconducting behavior upon Cu enrichment. Together, these results establish this material system as a unique and versatile platform for elucidating the interplay among composition, crystal defects, and multifunctional properties, offering a route to design magnetic polar systems with tunable quantum functionalities.