Valley contrasting bulk photovoltaic effect in antiferromagnetic MnPSe${}_3$ monolayer

Abstract

Valleytronics that uses the inequivalent electronic states at the band extrema in semiconductors have been considered to play a vital role in the future information read/write technology. In the current work, we theoretically show that sizable valley contrasting bulk photovoltaic (BPV) effect could emerge, even when the total photocurrent is symmetrically forbidden. We illustrate our theory by using a prototypical two-dimensional antiferromagnetic semiconductor, MnPSe3 monolayer, that is PT-symmetric (P and T refer to spatially inversion and time-reversal operators, respectively). We show that the Neel vector well controls the magnetic point group at the $\Gamma$ point, and the BPV current direction. In addition, $\mathbf{k}$-dependent photocurrent generally arises due to the reduction of little group constraints at the valley. This leads to hidden valley-polarized photoconductivity which could reach a magnitude of 1350 $\mu$A/V&^2&, observable experimentally. We further predict that the MnPSe${}_3$ monolayer could be two-dimensional ferrotoroidic, again depending on its Neel vector direction, which can be determined via magnetoelectric response measurements. Our work provides an exemplary platform for paving the route to future opto-spintronic and opto-valleytronic devices in a single antiferromagnetic nanomaterial.

5 pages, combined with main text and supplemental material, under peer review

References in corpus (8)

• Valley filter and valley valve in graphene
• Ising-Type Magnetic Ordering in Atomically Thin FePS3
• Coupling the valley degree of freedom to antiferromagnetic order
• Valley susceptibility of an interacting two-dimensional electron system
• Layer Hall effect in a 2D topological Axion antiferromagnet
• Valley splitting of AlAs two-dimensional electrons in a perpendicular magnetic field
• Nonlinear spin current generation in noncentrosymmetric spin-orbit coupled systems
• Microscopic Origin of the Valley Hall Effect in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Revealed by Wavelength Dependent Mapping

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Contrasting Light-Induced Spin Torque in Antiferromagnetic and Altermagnetic Systems
• Skin Effect of Nonlinear Optical Responses in Antiferromagnets
• TensorSymmetry: a package to get symmetry-adapted tensors disentangling spin-orbit coupling effect and establishing analytical relationship with magnetic order
• Bulk Photovoltaic Effects in Helimagnets
• Manipulating Photogalvanic Effects in Two-Dimensional Multiferroic Breathing Kagome Materials
• Reversing Neel Vector in PT-Antiferromagnets by Nonreciprocal Light Scattering
• Magnetic precession induced spin accumulation in collinear antiferromagnets