Spin-mechanical coupling in 2D antiferromagnet CrSBr

TL;DR

This study reveals strong spin-mechanical coupling in 2D antiferromagnetic CrSBr, demonstrating its potential for magnetic sensing and quantum transduction through nano opto-electro-mechanical detection of phase transitions and magnetostriction.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel nano opto-electro-mechanical method to probe spin-mechanical coupling in 2D CrSBr, revealing tunable magnetoelastic properties at the nanoscale.

Findings

Visualization of magnetic phase transitions via optomechanical anomalies

Measurement of significant magnetostriction coefficient and magnetoelastic coupling strength

Demonstration of 50% tunability of magnetoelastic constant through gate-induced strain

Abstract

Spin-mechanical coupling is vital in diverse fields including spintronics, sensing and quantum transduction. Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials provide a unique platform for investigating spin-mechanical coupling, attributed to their mechanical flexibility and novel spin orderings. However, studying spin-mechanical coupling in 2D magnets presents challenges in probing mechanical deformation and thermodynamic properties change at nanoscale. Here we use nano opto-electro-mechanical interferometry to mechanically detect the phase transition and magnetostriction effect in multilayer CrSBr, an air-stable antiferromagnets with large magnon-exciton coupling. The transitions among antiferromagnetism, spin-canted ferromagnetism and paramagnetism are visualized by optomechanical frequency anomalies. Nontrivial magnetostriction coefficient 2.3x10^(-5) and magnetoelastic coupling strength on the order of 10^6 J/m^3 have been found. Moreover, we demonstrate the substantial tunability of the magnetoelastic constant by nearly 50% via gate-induced strain. Our findings demonstrate the strong spin-mechanical coupling in CrSBr and paves the way for developing sensitive magnetic sensing and efficient quantum transduction at atomically thin limit.