Piezoelectric ferromagnetism in Janus monolayer YBrI: a first-principle prediction

TL;DR

This paper predicts that Janus monolayer YBrI is a stable piezoelectric ferromagnet with tunable electronic, magnetic, and piezoelectric properties, suitable for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It introduces YBrI monolayer as a new 2D piezoelectric ferromagnet with detailed first-principles analysis of its stability, magnetic anisotropy, valley effects, and strain-tunable properties.

Findings

YBrI is dynamically, mechanically, and thermally stable.

YBrI exhibits both in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectricity.

The Curie temperature of YBrI exceeds that of some known 2D ferromagnets.

Abstract

Coexistence of intrinsic ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity, namely piezoelectric ferromagnetism (PFM), is crucial to advance multifunctional spintronic technologies. In this work, we demonstrate that Janus monolayer YBrI is a PFM, which is dynamically, mechanically and thermally stable. Electronic correlation effects on physical properties of YBrI are investigated by using generalized gradient approximation plus $U$ (GGA+$U$) approach. For out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy, YBrI is a ferrovalley (FV) material, and the valley splitting is larger than 82 meV in considered $U$ range. The anomalous valley Hall effect (AVHE) can be achieved under an in-plane electric field. However, for in-plane magnetic anisotropy, YBrI is a common ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor. When considering intrinsic magnetic anisotropy, the easy axis of YBrI is always in-plane with magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) from 0.309 meV to 0.237 meV ($U$=0.0 eV to 3.0 eV). However, the magnetization can be adjusted from the in-plane to off-plane direction by external magnetic field, and then lead to the occurrence of valley polarization. Moreover, missing centrosymmetry along with mirror symmetry breaking results in both in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectricity in YBrI monolayer. At a typical $U$=2.0 eV, the $d_{11}$ is predicted to be -5.61 pm/V, which is higher than or compared with ones of other two-dimensional (2D) known materials. The electronic and piezoelectric properties of YBrI can be effectively tuned by applying a biaxial strain. For example, tensile strain can enhance valley splitting and $d_{11}$ (absolute value). The predicted Curie temperature of YBrI is higher than those of experimentally synthesized 2D ferromagnetic materials $\mathrm{CrI_3}$ and $\mathrm{Cr_2Ge_2Te_6}$.