Nearly Complete Charge--Spin Conversion via Strain-Eliminated Fermi Pockets in $d$-Wave Altermagnets

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that applying in-plane strain to $d$-wave altermagnets significantly enhances charge-spin conversion efficiency by eliminating parasitic Fermi pockets, approaching near-perfect conversion in first-principles calculations.

Contribution

The paper introduces strain engineering as a method to optimize charge-spin conversion in $d$-wave altermagnets by removing residual Fermi pockets, supported by first-principles and tight-binding models.

Findings

CSE reaches approximately 96% at 4% strain.

Strain suppresses elliptical Fermi pockets, restoring flat-band geometry.

Emergence of an out-of-plane spin current component with 55% CSE under tilted electric fields.

Abstract

$d$-wave altermagnets possess nearly orthogonal flat Fermi surfaces, which in an idealized limit enable complete spin-channel separation and a theoretical charge-to-spin conversion efficiency (CSE) of 100%. The recently discovered metallic altermagnet $\mathrm{KV_2Se_2O}$ exemplifies this class, yet realistic samples host residual elliptical Fermi pockets that enhance charge conductivity while suppressing spin conductivity, drastically reducing the CSE. Here we show that in-plane equibiaxial tensile strain systematically eliminates these parasitic pockets, restoring the flat-band geometry. Our first-principles calculations reveal that the CSE increases monotonically with strain, reaching a record value of approximately 96% at 4% strain. An effective tight-binding model fitted to the computed band structure accurately captures the evolution of the Fermi surface and confirms that the suppression of the pockets -- governed by reduced next-nearest-neighbor hoppings -- is the dominant mechanism for the strain-enhanced CSE. We further identify an unconventional out-of-plane spin current component that emerges under tilted electric fields and achieves a CSE of nearly 55% at optimal orientations, offering a promising pathway for field-free perpendicular magnetization switching. Our findings establish strain engineering as a practical route to approach the ultimate conversion limit in $d$-wave altermagnets and provide a design principle for high-efficiency spintronic devices.