Electrical control of magnetism in multiferroic 2D materials

ended

The avenue of magnetism in the field of 2D materials has marked the ultimate milestone in the discovery of one-atom-thick classes of materials. Bulk ferromagnets and antiferomagnets now have their 2D counterparts and are at one’s provision for the realization of imagination-limited artificial layered structures. At the same time, this awaited breakthrough has brought in new conundrums that demand investigation. This project is driven by the exploration of the limits of van der Waals 2D magnets from both a fundamental physics and a materials science and devices point of view. Firstly, it addresses fundamental key questions regarding spin order at the true 2D limit, which remain a mystery to the date. Here, the great variety of magnetic anisotropies exhibited by the transition metal halides will shed new light to the subtle equilibrium of interactions in few-layer magnets. Secondly, the project will invoke the control of the magnetic ground states and spin textures in true 2D magnets via electrical manipulation. Electric fields will assist in tuning the magnetic coupling and critical behaviour and the spatial manipulation of spin topologies. Anticipated breakthroughs will be the enhancement of the critical temperature in semiconducting single layer magnets towards room temperature 2D magnetism and the realization of single-layer multiferroic 2D materials. Thirdly, the field effect electrical control of magnetism in designer van der Waals and lateral heterostructures will allow for an enhanced magneto-electric coupling, yielding functional devices for effective charge-to-spin transduction that hold promise in spintronics. The proposal will achieve success by an integral approach to research, through the combination of the study of solid-state growth techniques together with the implementation of state-of-the-art deterministic manipulation of 2D materials in inert conditions and the use high resolution magnetism probes to test hybrid magnetic-optoelectronic devices.