Ultrahigh Charge-to-Spin Conversion and Tunneling Magnetoresistance in Quasi-Two-Dimensional d-wave Altermagnet

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that quasi-2D d-wave altermagnets like KV2Se2O exhibit exceptional charge-to-spin conversion and giant tunneling magnetoresistance, promising for advanced spintronic memory devices.

Contribution

It provides first-principles evidence of high-efficiency spin transport and ultra-large TMR in KV2Se2O-based AFMTJs, highlighting the role of Fermi surface topology and anisotropic spin polarization.

Findings

KV2Se2O shows >60% spin Hall angle at room temperature.

AFMTJs with KV2Se2O achieve TMR of approximately 10^12%.

The TMR remains robust against Fermi level shifts.

Abstract

The emergence of altermagnets has driven groundbreaking advances in spintronics. Notably, d-wave altermagnets support non-relativistic spin transport, efficient charge-to-spin conversion, and T-odd spin currents. In addition, their integration as electrodes in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs) enables a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect, allowing electrical detection of N\'eel vectors for next-generation memory devices. In this work, we investigate the non-relativistic spin transport properties of the quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) d-wave altermagnet KV\textsubscript{2}Se\textsubscript{2}O and the TMR effect in KV\textsubscript{2}Se\textsubscript{2}O-based AFMTJs via first-principles calculations. Our results reveal that KV\textsubscript{2}Se\textsubscript{2}O exhibits a non-relativistic longitudinal spin polarization and a spin Hall angle both exceeding 60\% at room temperature, while KV\textsubscript{2}Se\textsubscript{2}O-based AFMTJs achieve a giant TMR reaching approximately $10^{12}$\%, which remains robust against Fermi level shifts. These findings highlight the anisotropic spin polarization inherent to d-wave staggered magnetism and underscore the critical role of Fermi surface topology in enhancing T-odd spin transport and the TMR effect in AFMTJs.