Symmetry-dictated switching of antiferromagnetic magnon transport in 2D multiferroics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a universal, electrically switchable mechanism for controlling antiferromagnetic magnon transport in 2D multiferroics via ferroelectric polarization, enabling nonvolatile magnonic devices.

Contribution

It proposes a novel coupling between ferroelectric polarization and magnon geometric phase to achieve deterministic, nonvolatile control of magnon transport in 2D multiferroic materials.

Findings

Reversing FE polarization swaps magnon asymmetries and inverts Berry curvature.

Validated mechanism in single-layer CuCr2Se4 using first-principles and spin-wave theory.

Establishes a new paradigm for electrically switchable antiferromagnetic magnonics.

Abstract

While antiferromagnetic magnons in two-dimensional (2D) materials hold immense promise for high-frequency spintronics, achieving their efficient active control remains a critical challenge. Here, we propose a universal mechanism for the nonvolatile ferroelectric (FE) switching of antiferromagnetic magnon transport in 2D multiferroic lattices. Our mechanism relies on coupling the magnon geometric phase to the FE-induced sublattice asymmetry in exchange and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. This explicitly breaks the exact compensation of opposite-chirality magnons inherent to collinear antiferromagnets, lifting their spin degeneracy and inducing a highly tunable net Berry curvature. Crucially, reversing the FE polarization deterministically swaps these magnetic asymmetries, which completely inverts the net magnon Berry curvature and the resulting anomalous thermal Hall conductivity. Using first-principles and linear spin-wave theory, we rigorously validate this geometric-phase-driven mechanism in single-layer CuCr2Se4. Our findings establish a robust paradigm for coupling multiferroicity with the magnon geometric phase, paving the way for nonvolatile and electrically switchable antiferromagnetic magnonics.