Built-in Electric-Field-Control of Magnetic Coupling in van der Waals semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how a built-in electric field, generated by superatomic ion adsorption, can effectively control magnetic coupling and anisotropy in 2D van der Waals semiconductors, advancing nanoscale spintronic device design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of tuning magnetic properties in 2D semiconductors using electric fields from superatomic ions, supported by first-principles calculations.

Findings

Enhanced ferromagnetic coupling observed

Significant change in magnetic anisotropy predicted

Electric field modulates ligand orbital energy levels

Abstract

Electrical control of magnetism in a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor is of great interest for emerging nanoscale low-dissipation spintronic devices. Here, we propose a general approach of tuning magnetic coupling and anisotropy of a van der Waals (vdW) 2D magnetic semiconductor via a built-in electric field generated by the adsorption of superatomic ions. Using first-principles calculations, we predict a significant enhancement of ferromagnetic (FM) coupling and a great change of magnetic anisotropy in 2D semiconductors when they are sandwiched between superatomic cations and anions. The magnetic coupling is directly affected by the built-in electric field, which lifts the energy levels of mediated ligands' orbitals and enhances the super-exchange interactions. These findings will be of interest for ionic gating controlled ferromagnets and magnetoelectronics based on vdW 2D semiconductors.