R&D: Multi-state Storage in 2D Stripy Antiferromagnet Implemented by Magnetoelectric Effect

Nature Communications has published an article written by Pingfan Gu, State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China, Cong Wang, Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Micro-Nano Devices, Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, and Key Laboratory of Quantum State Construction and Manipulation (Ministry of Education), Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, Dan Su, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Beijing, China , Zehao Dong, State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China, Qiuyuan Wang, State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China , Zheng Han, State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, Institute of Optoelectronics, Taiyuan, China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China, and Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang, China, Kenji Watanabe, Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan, Takashi Taniguchi, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan, Wei Ji, Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Micro-Nano Devices, Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, and Key Laboratory of Quantum State Construction and Manipulation (Ministry of Education), Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, Young Sun, Center of Quantum Materials and Devices, and Department of Applied Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China, and Yu Ye, State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang, China, and Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, Peking University, Nantong, China.

Abstract: “A promising approach to the next generation of low-power, functional, and energy-efficient electronics relies on novel materials with coupled magnetic and electric degrees of freedom. In particular, stripy antiferromagnets often exhibit broken crystal and magnetic symmetries, which may bring about the magnetoelectric (ME) effect and enable the manipulation of intriguing properties and functionalities by electrical means. The demand for expanding the boundaries of data storage and processing technologies has led to the development of spintronics toward two-dimensional (2D) platforms. This work reports the ME effect in the 2D stripy antiferromagnetic insulator CrOCl down to a single layer. By measuring the tunneling resistance of CrOCl on the parameter space of temperature, magnetic field, and applied voltage, we verified the ME coupling down to the 2D limit and probed its mechanism. Utilizing the multi-stable states and ME coupling at magnetic phase transitions, we realize multi-state data storage in the tunneling devices. Our work not only advances the fundamental understanding of spin-charge coupling, but also demonstrates the great potential of 2D antiferromagnetic materials to deliver devices and circuits beyond the traditional binary operations.“