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Updated: Jul 27, 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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Néel Spin Currents in Antiferromagnets
Ding-Fu Shao1, Yuan-Yuan Jiang1,2, Jun Ding3
1Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
Physical Review Letters
|June 9, 2023
Summary
Fully compensated antiferromagnets can host Néel spin currents, enabling spin-dependent transport phenomena. These currents drive tunneling magnetoresistance and spin-transfer torque for antiferromagnetic spintronics applications.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Spintronics
Background:
- Ferromagnetic materials support spin-polarized currents crucial for spintronics.
- Fully compensated antiferromagnets were traditionally considered to have only spin-neutral currents.
- This limited their perceived utility in advanced spintronic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate that globally spin-neutral currents in antiferromagnets can manifest as Néel spin currents.
- To show that these Néel spin currents can drive spin-dependent transport phenomena.
- To explore the potential of antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs) for novel spintronic applications.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical investigation of spin-polarized currents in antiferromagnets.
- Modeling of Néel spin current generation in materials with strong intrasublattice coupling.
- Simulation of spin-dependent transport phenomena like tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and spin-transfer torque (STT) in AFMTJs.
Main Results:
- Identified Néel spin currents as staggered spin currents flowing through different magnetic sublattices.
- Showcased the emergence of Néel spin currents in antiferromagnets with strong intrasublattice coupling.
- Predicted that Néel spin currents in RuO2 and Fe4GeTe2 can generate significant fieldlike spin-transfer torque for deterministic Néel vector switching.
Conclusions:
- Fully compensated antiferromagnets possess unexplored potential for spintronics.
- Néel spin currents offer a new pathway for efficient information writing and reading in antiferromagnetic spintronics.
- This research opens avenues for developing next-generation spintronic devices based on antiferromagnets.
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