Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026
08:01
Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
7.8K
Gate-Controllable Magneto-optic Kerr Effect in Layered Collinear Antiferromagnets
Nikhil Sivadas1, Satoshi Okamoto2, Di Xiao1
1Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|January 7, 2017
Summary
Electric fields can control magneto-optic effects in antiferromagnets by tuning crystal symmetry. This gate voltage method, demonstrated in MnPSe3, offers electric field control of the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) without altering magnetic structure.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Materials science
- Spintronics
Background:
- Magneto-optic effects are crucial for optical devices.
- Controlling these effects typically requires altering magnetic structures.
- Layered collinear antiferromagnets offer unique properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore electric field control of magneto-optic effects in layered antiferromagnets.
- To demonstrate gate voltage manipulation of crystal symmetries for magneto-optic control.
- To investigate the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) in bilayer MnPSe3.
Main Methods:
- Symmetry arguments and tight-binding model calculations.
- First-principles calculations for bilayer MnPSe3.
- Analysis of electric field-induced symmetry breaking.
Main Results:
- Magneto-optic effects can be generated and manipulated via gate voltage-controlled crystal symmetries.
- Gate voltage control of MOKE demonstrated in bilayer MnPSe3.
- Field-induced inversion symmetry breaking enables gate-controllable MOKE with switchable rotation direction.
Conclusions:
- Crystal symmetry tuning via gate voltage provides a novel route for electric field control of magneto-optic effects.
- This approach allows manipulation without changing the intrinsic magnetic structure.
- Gate-controlled MOKE in MnPSe3 shows potential for advanced spintronic and optical devices.
Related Concept Videos
01:31Ferromagnetism
3.3K
Materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt consist of magnetic domains, within which the magnetic dipoles are arranged parallel to each other. The magnetic dipoles are rigidly aligned in the same direction within a domain by quantum mechanical coupling among the atoms. This coupling is so strong that even thermal agitation at room temperature cannot break it. The result is that each domain has a net dipole moment. However, some materials have weaker coupling, and are ferromagnetic at lower...
3.3K
03:02Colors and Magnetism
14.4K
Color in Coordination Complexes
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
14.4K
01:27Magnetic Fields
7.6K
A moving charge or a current creates a magnetic field in the surrounding space, in addition to its electric field. The magnetic field exerts a force on any other moving charge or current that is present in the field. Like an electric field, the magnetic field is also a vector field. At any position, the direction of the magnetic field is defined as the direction in which the north pole of a compass needle points.
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...
7.6K
01:30Paramagnetism
3.1K
Paramagnets are materials with unpaired electrons that possess a finite magnetic moment. In the absence of a magnetic field, these moments are randomly oriented, and thus the net moment is zero. Under an external field, a torque acting on the moments tends to align them along the field's direction. However, the random thermal motion of electrons produces a torque opposite to the external field and tries to disorient the moments. These two competing effects align only a few moments along the...
3.1K
01:24Potential Due to a Magnetized Object
847
Magnetic dipoles in magnetic materials are aligned when placed under an external magnetic field. For paramagnets and ferromagnets, dipole alignment occurs in the direction of the magnetic field. However, the dipoles align opposite to the field in the case of diamagnets. This state of magnetic polarization due to the external field is called magnetization. Magnetization is defined as the dipole moment per unit volume. It plays a similar role to polarization in electrostatics.
The vector...
The vector...
847
01:17Force On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field
4.4K
Magnetic forces on wires carrying current are most frequently applied in motors. A DC motor is a device that converts electrical energy into mechanical work. In motors, wire loops are enclosed in a magnetic field. When current flows through the loops, the magnetic field applies torque, which causes the shaft to rotate. The direction of the current is reversed once the loop's surface area is lined up with the magnetic field, causing a constant torque on the loop. During the process, commutators...
4.4K