Associate Professor Ping Li from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Xi'an Jiaotong University, along with Dr. Wei Xun from Huaiyin Institute of Technology, recently proposed a mechanism to manipulate magnetism, ferroelectricity, and valley polarization through interlayer slip of two-dimensional bilayer materials, bringing new advances to the development of spin-electronic devices. The relevant research findings have been published in Nano Express.
In this study, the researchers confirmed the feasibility of the mechanism in a bilayer GdI2 system. The magnetic ground state and valley polarization of bilayer GdI2 can be strongly coupled through slipping ferroelectricity, exhibiting tunability and reversibility. Furthermore, the researchers revealed the microscopic physical mechanism of slipping ferroelectricity-induced magnetic phase transition through spin Hamiltonian and interlayer electron transitions.
It is worth noting that in 2016, Professor Chungang Duan's team from East China Normal University proposed the concept of valley-ferroic materials (analogous to the definitions of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials, materials with spontaneous spin polarization are called ferromagnetic materials, materials with spontaneous ferroelectric polarization are called ferroelectric materials, and materials with spontaneous valley polarization are called valley-ferroic materials) through the study of monolayer 2H-phase VSe2. However, how to realize control over the valley degrees of freedom remains another challenge for researchers. This study provides a new direction for two-dimensional multiferroic devices.
Related Paper Information: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00597
