Geometry-Driven Magnetoelectric Coupling in Two-Dimensional Compensated Ferrimagnets

Abstract

The magnetoelectric coupling in compensated magnets enables stray-field-free manipulation of spin-splitting, holding great promise for spintronics, but inherently hindered by the symmetry mismatch between spatial-inversion-broken ferroelectricity and time-reversal-broken spin states. Here, based on a symmetry-decoupled analysis of magnetoelectric coupling in compensated magnets, we establish a geometry-driven spin-ferroelectric coupling mechanism in bilayer breathing kagome lattices. Within this geometric framework interlocking the out-of-plane electric polarization with cooperative intralayer structural distortions, we demonstrate that polarization switching drives a deterministic reversal of the global spin splitting. First-principles calculations on a prototype bilayer Nb3Cl8 successfully validate this mechanism, demonstrating the switching of spin-splitting states through an energetically feasible, asynchronous layer-by-layer transition pathway. Our proposed coupling originates from lattice geometry and structural symmetry, establishing a unique route toward switchable spin splitting in compensated ferrimagnets.

7 pages, 5 figures