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Ferrimagnetic semiconductor Mn₃Si₂Te₆ is recently reported to show colossal angular magnetoresistance (CAMR), which is related to the insulator-to-metal transition driven by the tunable spin-orbit coupling gap with spin orientation [1]. Here we report our investigation on high pressure effect on Mn₃Si₂Te₆ using electrical transport, magnetization, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD). Upon increasing pressure, the resistivity systematically decreases, leading to an insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) at P_c ~15 GPa, with  the CAMR is also being continuously weakened. On the other hand, the Curie temperature (T_c) is unusually enhanced from T_c = 78 K reaching up to nearly room temperature at P_c, above which it decreases in the metallic state. The T_c enhancement occurs in the same initial crystal structure while the IMT is accompanied by the possible structural transformation. The underlying mechanism of the metal-insulator transition and T_c enhancement in terms of the competition of intra- and interlayer couplings at high pressures will be discussed.

[1] J. Seo, et al. (in press)