Antiferroelectric Altermagnets: Antiferroelectricity Alters Magnets

Abstract

Magnetoelectric coupling is crucial for uncovering fundamental phenomena and advancing technologies in high-density data storage and energy-efficient devices. The emergence of altermagnets, which unify the advantages of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, offers unprecedented opportunities for magnetoelectric coupling. However, electrically tuning altermagnets remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we demonstrate how this challenge can be overcome by using antiferroelectricity and ferroelectricity to modulate the spin splitting in altermagnets, employing a universal, symmetry-based design principle supported by an effective model. We introduce an unexplored class of multiferroics: antiferroelectric altermagnets (AFEAM), where antiferroelectricity and altermagnetism coexist in a single material. From first-principles calculations, we validate the feasibility of AFEAM in well-established van der Waals metal thio(seleno)phosphates and perovskite oxides. We reveal the design of AFEAM ranging from two-dimensional monolayers to three-dimensional bulk structures. Remarkably, even a weak electric field can effectively toggle spin polarization in the AFEAM by switching between antiferroelectric and ferroelectric states. Our findings not only enrich the understanding of magnetoelectric coupling but also pave the way for electrically controlled spintronic and multiferroic devices.

PRL Editors' Suggestion and Featured in Physics (https://physics.aps.org/articles/v18/58)

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Cited by in corpus (53)

• Ferroelectric switchable altermagnetism
• Two-Dimensional Ferroelectric Altermagnets: From Model to Material Realization
• Spin-Polarized Antiferromagnetic Spintronics
• Electrical switching of altermagnetism
• Above room temperature multiferroic tunnel junction with the altermagnetic metal CrSb
• G-type Antiferromagnetic BiFeO${}_3$ is a Multiferroic $g$-wave Altermagnet
• Design of altermagnetic models from spin clusters
• Two-dimensional Dual-Switchable Ferroelectric Altermagnets: Altering Electrons and Magnons
• Emergent Multiferroic Altermagnets and Spin Control via Noncollinear Molecular Polarization
• Anisotropic light-tailored RKKY interaction in two-dimensional $d$-wave altermagnets
• All-electrically controlled spintronics in altermagnetic heterostructures
• Unconventional Spintronics from Chiral Perovskites
• Recent Advances in Unconventional Ferroelectrics and Multiferroics
• Multiferroic nematic d-wave altermagnetism driven by orbital-order on the honeycomb lattice
• Sliding Ferroelectricity Induced and Switched Altermagnetism in GaSe-VPSe3-GaSe Sandwiched Heterostructure with Strong Magnetoelectric Effect
• Ferroelasticity tunable altermagnets
• Light-induced Odd-parity Magnetism in Conventional Collinear Antiferromagnets
• Lithium and Vanadium Intercalation into Bilayer V2Se2O: Ferrimagnetic-Ferroelastic Multiferroics and Anomalous and Spin Transport
• Symmetry Classification for Alternating Excitons in Two-Dimensional Altermagnets
• Mechanically and electrically switchable triferroic altermagnet in a pentagonal FeO2 monolayer
• Two-Dimensional Altermagnetic Iron Oxyhalides: Real Chern Topology and Valley-Spin-Lattice Coupling
• Dimension- and Facet-Dependent Altermagnetic Biferroics and Ferromagnetic Biferroics and Triferroics in CrSb
• Real Chern insulators in two-dimensional altermagnetic Fe${}_2$S${}_2$O and Fe${}_2$Se${}_2$O
• Designing Non-Relativistic Spin Splitting in Oxide Perovskites
• Design and theory of switchable linear magnetoelectricity by ferroelectricity in Type-I multiferroics
• A large spin-splitting altermagnet designed from the hydroxylated MBene monolayer
• Valley-dependent electronic properties in two-dimensional altermagnetic iron-based transition metal chalcogenides
• Nonlinear Transport Signatures of Hidden Symmetry Breaking in a Weyl Altermagnet
• Spin-Polarized Josephson Supercurrent in Nodeless Altermagnets
• Magnetic-field-tuned randomness in inhomogeneous altermagnets
• Unified Magnetoelectric Mechanism for Spin Splitting in Magnets
• Impact of strong electronic correlations on altermagnets: the case of NiS2
• Photoinduced phase transitions and lattice deformation in 2D NbOX${}_2$ (X=Cl, Br, I)
• Finite-momentum mixed singlet-triplet pairing in chiral antiferromagnets induced by even-parity spin texture
• Marginal Metals and Kosterlitz-Thouless Type Phase Transition in Disordered Altermagnets
• Fractional Quantum Multiferroics from Coupling of Fractional Quantum Ferroelectricity and Altermagnetism
• Rational Control of Magnonic and Electronic Band Splittings
• Matter with apparent and hidden spin physics
• Higher-order topological insulators in two-dimensional antiferromagnetic and altermagnetic chromium-based group-IV chalcogenides
• Cartesian Nodal Lines and Magnetic Kramers Weyl Nodes in Spin-Split Antiferromagnets
• Non-Hermitian higher-order topological insulators enabled by altermagnet engineering
• Spontaneous emergence of altermagnetism in the single-orbital extended Hubbard model
• Altermagnetic Multiferroics: Symmetry-Locked Magnetoelectric Coupling
• Quantum-impurity sensing of altermagnetic order
• Spin-Orbit Coupling-Driven Chirality Switching of Spin Waves in Altermagnets
• Spin triplet pairing by suppressing altermagnetism
• Competitive Orders in Altermagnetic Chiral Magnons
• Antiferroaxial altermagnetism
• Time reversal reserved spin valve and spin transistor based on unconventional $p$-wave magnets
• Many-body description of two-dimensional van der Waals ferroelectric $\alpha -$In${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Spin transport in a normal meta-altermagnetic superconducting nanowire junction
• Revealing Spin and Spatial Symmetry Decoupling: New Insights into Magnetic Systems with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction
• Ferroelectric switchable altermagnetic-like compensated ferrimagnets with charge ordering