Abstract
The discovery of two-dimensional (2D) magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials has flourished an endeavor for fundamental problems as well as potential applications in computing, sensing and storage technologies. Of particular interest are antiferromagnets, which due to their intrinsic exchange coupling show several advantages in relation to ferromagnets such as robustness against external magnetic perturbations. Here we show that, despite of this cornerstone, the magnetic domains of recently discovered 2D vdW MnPS3 antiferromagnet can be controlled via magnetic fields and electric currents. We achieve ultrafast domain-wall dynamics with velocities up to ~3000 m s−1 within a relativistic kinematic. Lorentz contraction and emission of spin-waves in the terahertz gap are observed with dependence on the edge termination of the layers. Our results indicate that the implementation of 2D antiferromagnets in real applications can be further controlled through edge engineering which sets functional characteristics for ultrathin device platforms with relativistic features.
Highlights
The emergence of magnetism in 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials has opened exciting avenues in the exploration of spin-based applications at the ultimate level of few-atom-thick layers
Spin dynamics on monolayer MnPS3 We firstly investigate how magnetic domains are formed in monolayer MnPS3 through simulating the zero-field-cooling process for a large square flake of 0.3 μm × 0.3 μm using atomistic spin dynamics which incorporate micro-scale and macro-scale underlying details
The time evolution of the easy-axis component of the magnetization Sz is used to display the nucleation of the magnetic domains at different temperatures and magnetic fields
Summary
The emergence of magnetism in 2D vdW materials has opened exciting avenues in the exploration of spin-based applications at the ultimate level of few-atom-thick layers. Remarkable properties including giant tunneling magnetoresistance[1,2,3] and layer stacking dependent magnetic phase[4,5] have recently been demonstrated Even though these studies show that rich physical phenomena can be observed in 2D ferromagnets[6,7,8,9], the dynamics of domain walls which determine whether such compounds can be effectively implemented in real-life device platforms remains elusive. Recent measurements using tunneling magnetoresistance, a common approach for ferromagnetic materials, unveiled that antiferromagnetic correlations persist down to the level of individual monolayers of MnPS314 This result suggests that yet unexplored ingredients at low-dimensionality play an important role in the detection and manipulation of the antiferromagnetic order in 2D vdW compounds. How domain walls in MnPS3 behave and can be controlled externally in functional devices for practical applications are still open questions
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