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Research Highlight

Manipulating Spins of 2D Magnets by Stacking Rotation

Manipulating Spins of 2D Magnets by Stacking Rotation
Through rotating one layer by 180° with respect to the other layer in bilayer CrI3, the interlayer magnetic order can be switched according to our first-principles simulations. The figure shows that the ground state antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin order in C/2m stacking can be switched to ferromagnetic (FM) order by stacking reversal.

Scientific Achievement

Large-scale supercomputer simulations predicted that the interlayer magnetic order in bilayer CrI3 can be switched between antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) by stacking reversal, corroborating existing experimental data. The microscopic origin of the magnetic order change were revealed through magnetic force theory calculations.

Significance and Impact

Stacking rotation and translation allow us to control and  manipulate the interlayer magnetism of CrI3, as well as other 2D magnetic quantum materials.

Research Details

  • First-principles DFT calculations predict that the interlayer magnetic ground state can be switched from AFM-to-FM or FM-to-AFM by reversing the stacking in bilayer CrI3.

  • Microscopic analysis was carried out by magnetic force theory calculations at KAIST and revealed the microscopic origin of the magnetic order change was due to the stacking rotation.

     

X. Kong, H. Yoon, M.-J. Han, and L. Liang, "Switching Interlayer Magnetic Order in Bilayer CrI3 by Stacking Reversal," Nanoscale (2021). DOI: 10.1039/D1NR02480A