Observation of unprecedented fractional magnetization plateaus in a new Shastry-Sutherland Ising compound

Geometrically frustrated magnetic systems, such as those based on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice, offer a rich playground for exploring unconventional magnetic states. The delicate balance between competing interactions in these systems leads to the emergence of novel phases. We present the characterization of Er2Be2GeO7, an SSL compound with Er3+ ions forming orthogonal dimers separated by non-magnetic layers. Neutron scattering reveals an antiferromagnetic dimer structure at zero field, typical of Ising spins on that lattice and consistent with the anisotropic magnetization observed. However, magnetization measurements exhibit fractional plateaus at 1/4 and 1/2 of saturation, by contrast to the expected 1/3 plateau of the SSL Ising model. We show that this behaviour requires spatially anisotropic interactions, and, using a tensor network approach, we show that all properties, including thermodynamics, can be quantitatively explained by an Anisotropic Shastry-Sutherland Ising Model whose microscopic origin can be traced back to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. This study highlights Er2Be2GeO7 as a promising platform for investigating exotic magnetic phenomena and potential applications in spintronics.