Tunable Magnetic Anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in an Ultrathin van der Waals Fe3GeTe2/In2Se3 Heterostructure

Abstract

The promise of future spintronic devices with nanoscale dimension, high-density, and low-energy consumption motivates the search for van der Waals heterostructure that stabilize topologically protected whirling spin textures such as magnetic skyrmions and domain walls. To translate these compelling features into practical devices, a key challenge lies in achieving effective manipulation of the magnetic anisotropy energy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction, the two key parameters that determine skyrmions. Through the first-principles calculation, we demonstrate that the polarization-induced broken inversion symmetry in the two-dimensional Fe 3 GeTe 2 /In 2 Se 3 multiferroic heterostructure does cause an interfacial DM interaction. The strong spin-orbit coupling triggers the magnetic anisotropy of the Fe 3 GeTe 2 /In 2 Se 3 heterostructure. The magnetic anisotropy and the DM interaction in Fe 3 GeTe 2 can be well-controlled by the ferroelectric polarization of In 2 Se 3. This work paves the way toward the spintronic devices based on van der Waals heterostructures.

Ferroelectric Control of Magnetic Skyrmions in Two-Dimensional van der Waals Heterostructures

“…This is due to DMI being sensitive to the interface orbital hybridizations and charge transfer effects . As a result, when heterostructured with 2D ferromagnets, 2D ferroelectrics can be used to mediate the electrical control of DMI and thus skyrmion behaviors. , …”

“…55 As a result, when heterostructured with 2D ferromagnets, 2D ferroelectrics can be used to mediate the electrical control of DMI and thus skyrmion behaviors. 56,57 Fe 3 GeTe 2 is a representative 2D ferromagnetic metal 58 which can be used as a viable material to explore the control of skyrmions by ferroelectric polarization. Experimentally, the emergence of skyrmions has been demonstrated in Fe 3 GeTe 2 , under certain conditions.…”

Twist-stacked 2D bilayer Fe3GeTe2 with tunable magnetism

“…Magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) describes the energy required to rotate the magnetization from the easy axis to the hard axis and is a crucial parameter determining the stabilization of long-range magnetic order in 2D multilayers. 54,55 The MAE can be defined as total-energy dependence on magnetization direction, 1 namely, MAE = E 100 − E 001 . When calculating the MAE, we consider the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) of the FGT bilayers.…”

“…The vdW thin film is only a few atomic layers thick, and the interfacial ions are subtly affected by the surrounding physical environments with the slight movement of ions and reconstruction of orbitals. 1 The vdW interaction allows scientists to restack the layers into arbitrary stackings of thin layers without considering the atomic commensurability, as is the case in their bulk counterparts. The weak interlayer coupling between the thin films maintains the intrinsic properties of each component, which produces novel optic, material, and magnetic properties.…”

Modulation of skyrmionic magnetic textures in two-dimensional vdW materials and their heterostructures

“…The most achievable way is to construct heterostructure by integrating ferroelectric and magnetic materials, and thus the sizable DMI can be induced by the interfacial symmetry breaking. Since DMI is sensitive to the interface orbital hybridization and charge transfer effect, the electric polarization is expected to effectively control DMI in adjacent magnetic system, and thus to control the magnetic textures 52 . It had been reported experimentally that skyrmions can be efficiently manipulated by electric fields via polarization switching in BaTiO 3 /SrRuO 3 perovskite heterostructure 53 .…”