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Updated: Aug 18, 2025
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Visualizing Uniaxial-strain Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Domains in Fe1+YTe Using a Spin-polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Published on: March 24, 2019
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Spontaneous Valley Polarization in a Ferromagnetic Fe(OH)2 Monolayer
Yushuo Xu1, Shuhua Wang1, Shiqiang Yu1
1School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan250100, China.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
|December 8, 2022
Summary
Researchers found that a hexagonal iron oxyhydroxide (Fe(OH)2) monolayer exhibits spontaneous valley polarization, a key property for valleytronics applications. This discovery paves the way for novel electronic devices operating at room temperature.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Spintronics and Valleytronics
Background:
- Valleytronics aims to utilize the valley degree of freedom of electrons for information processing.
- Creating sizable spontaneous valley polarization remains a significant challenge in the field.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel materials suitable for valleytronics applications.
- To investigate the potential of ferromagnetic Fe(OH)2 monolayers for generating spontaneous valley polarization.
Main Methods:
- First-principles calculations were employed to study the electronic properties of the Fe(OH)2 monolayer.
- Tight-binding model analysis was used to further understand the observed phenomena.
Main Results:
- The ferromagnetic Fe(OH)2 monolayer exhibits simultaneous breaking of inversion and time-reversal symmetries.
- Strong spin-orbit coupling and ferromagnetic exchange interactions lead to a spontaneous valley polarization of 67 meV.
- This polarization is significant enough for potential room-temperature applications.
Conclusions:
- The Fe(OH)2 monolayer is a promising candidate material for valleytronics.
- The study discusses related phenomena such as valley-selective circular dichroism, spin/valley Hall effects, and topological phase transitions.
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