Associate Professor Ping Li from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Xi'an Jiaotong University, together with Dr. Wei Xun from Huaiyin Institute of Technology, recently proposed a mechanism to manipulate magnetism, ferroelectricity, and valley polarization by interlayer sliding of two-dimensional bilayer materials, bringing new advances to the development of spintronic devices. The research findings were 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 via sliding ferroelectricity, demonstrating tunability and reversibility. Furthermore, the microscopic physical mechanism of ferroelectricity-induced magnetic phase transition was revealed 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 exhibiting spontaneous spin polarization are termed ferromagnetic materials, materials exhibiting spontaneous electric polarization are termed ferroelectric materials, and materials exhibiting spontaneous valley polarization are termed valley-ferroic materials) through the study of monolayer 2H-VSe2. However, how to achieve control over the valley degree of freedom remains another challenge for researchers. This study provides a new direction for two-dimensional multiferroic devices.
For more information on the paper, please visit: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00597
