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Topological spintronics and magnetoelectronics

Nature Materials volume 21, pages 15–23 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Topological electronic materials, such as topological insulators, are distinct from trivial materials in the topology of their electronic band structures that lead to robust, unconventional topological states, which could bring revolutionary developments in electronics. This Perspective summarizes developments of topological insulators in various electronic applications including spintronics and magnetoelectronics. We group and analyse several important phenomena in spintronics using topological insulators, including spin–orbit torque, the magnetic proximity effect, interplay between antiferromagnetism and topology, and the formation of topological spin textures. We also outline recent developments in magnetoelectronics such as the axion insulator and the topological magnetoelectric effect observed using different topological insulators.

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Fig. 1: Current-induced spin accumulation in TIs.
Fig. 2: Evolution between axion insulators and QAH insulators.
Fig. 3: The topological magnetoelectric effect of Dirac fermions.

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Acknowledgements

Q.L.H. acknowledges support from the National Key R&D Program of China (grant no. 2020YFA0308900 and no. 2018YFA0305601), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 11874070) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDB28000000). Y.T. acknowledges support from JST CREST (no. JPMJCR16F1). K.L.W. acknowledges the support of the US National Science Foundation (ECCS 1611570), the ARO Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program under W911NF-16-1-047, the Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Basic Energy Sciences (BES), under award no. DE-SC0012670, and the Raytheon Endowed Chair. T.L.H., N.P.A. and K.L.W. acknowledge support from the ARO MURI on ‘Axion Electrodynamics beyond Maxwell’s Equations’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Qing Lin He

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China

    Qing Lin He

  3. Interdisciplinary Institute of Light-Element Quantum Materials and Research Center for Light-Element Advanced Materials, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Qing Lin He

  4. Department of Physics and Institute for Condensed Matter Theory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Taylor L. Hughes

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    N. Peter Armitage

  6. RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako, Japan

    Yoshinori Tokura

  7. Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshinori Tokura

  8. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kang L. Wang

  9. Center of Quantum Sciences and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kang L. Wang

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He, Q.L., Hughes, T.L., Armitage, N.P. et al. Topological spintronics and magnetoelectronics. Nat. Mater. 21, 15–23 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01138-5

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