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Magnetism, symmetry and spin transport in van der Waals layered systems

Nature Reviews Physics volume 4, pages 150–166 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The discovery of an ever-increasing family of atomic layered magnetic materials, together with the already established vast catalogue of strong spin–orbit coupling and topological systems, calls for some guiding principles to tailor and optimize novel spin transport and optical properties at their interfaces. Here, we focus on the latest developments in both fields that have brought them closer together and make them ripe for future fruitful synergy. After outlining fundamentals on van der Waals magnetism and spin–orbit coupling effects, we discuss how their coexistence, manipulation and competition could ultimately establish new ways to engineer robust spin textures and drive the generation and dynamics of spin current and magnetization switching in 2D-materials-based van der Waals heterostructures. Grounding our analysis on existing experimental results and theoretical considerations, we draw a prospective analysis about how intertwined magnetism and spin–orbit torque phenomena combine at interfaces with well-defined symmetries and how this dictates the nature and figures of merit of spin–orbit torque and angular momentum transfer. This will serve as a guiding role in designing future non-volatile memory devices that utilize the unique properties of 2D materials with the spin degree of freedom.

Key points

  • Fabrication of 2D van der Waals magnetic systems offers unprecedented opportunities for controlling magnetism and spin transport phenomena down to the monolayer limit.

  • Many van der Waals magnetic systems possess a low-symmetry crystalline structure, providing an array of exotic spin–orbit Hamiltonians, together with added richness arising from interface phenomena driven by layer-to-layer registry.

  • Understanding the intertwined contribution of spin–spin interaction and interfacial symmetries is crucial for maximizing the full potential of their spin–orbit torque efficiency.

  • This exciting research field of spin transport at the frontier of layered spin–orbit coupling and magnetism will lead to discoveries of new materials, novel transport effects, topological phenomena and unconventional electron correlation physics.

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Fig. 1: SOT in 2D materials.
Fig. 2: Experimentally validated critical magnetic transition temperature for various 2D van der Waals magnetic systems.
Fig. 3: Experimental observation of electric field control of magnetism in different van der Waals magnets.
Fig. 4: Illustration of spin–orbit torque mechanisms for different spin textures and their effects on the magnetic energy profile.
Fig. 5: Distributions of magnetic materials predicted using first-principle calculations as a function of their symmetry.

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Acknowledgements

H.K. and S.K. acknowledge support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) via EP/T006749/1 and also the help from O. Lee for producing the graphical images. S.R. and J.H.G. acknowledge funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under grant no. 881603 (Graphene Flagship) and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) through award number OSR-2018-CRG7-3717. The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) is funded by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya and supported by the Severo Ochoa programme (MINECO grant no. SEV-2017-0706).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL, London, UK

    Hidekazu Kurebayashi & Safe Khan

  2. Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Barcelona, Spain

    Jose H. Garcia & Stephan Roche

  3. Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    Jairo Sinova

  4. Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jairo Sinova

  5. ICREA–Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain

    Stephan Roche

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Kurebayashi, H., Garcia, J.H., Khan, S. et al. Magnetism, symmetry and spin transport in van der Waals layered systems. Nat Rev Phys 4, 150–166 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-021-00403-5

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