Tunable magnetic states in h-BN sheets

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that defects in hexagonal boron nitride sheets can have their magnetic states tuned via stress-induced geometric modifications, enabling potential applications in electronic and spintronic devices.

Contribution

It introduces a method to control magnetic moments in h-BN defects through external stress, leveraging defect shape and spin localization.

Findings

Stress modifies magnetic moments of defects.

Triangular defect shape influences magnetic properties.

Strong spin localization enables controllability.

Abstract

Magnetism in 2D atomic sheets has attracted considerable interest as its existence could allow the development of electronic and spintronic devices. The existence of magnetism is not sufficient for devices, however, as states must be addressable and modifiable through the application of an external drive. We show that defects in hexagonal boron nitride present a strong interplay between the the N-N distance in the edge and the magnetic moments of the defects. By stress-induced geometry modifications, we change the ground state magnetic moment of the defects. This control is made possible by the triangular shape of the defects as well as the strong spin localisation in the magnetic state.