Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 12, 2026
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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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Unconventional magnon-mediated spin torque enabled by ferroelectric domain engineering in multiferroic BiFeO3
Yuhan Liang1,2, Xingyu Yan3, Xiaoyu Jiang3
1School of Integrated Circuits and Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology (BNRist), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Nature Communications
|April 10, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new method using multiferroic BiFeO3 to control magnetization with spin currents. This breakthrough enables energy-efficient, field-free switching for advanced spintronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Spintronics
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Spin current offers energy-efficient magnetization manipulation when spin polarization aligns with magnetization.
- Conventional spin sources have high symmetry, limiting spin polarization to be orthogonal to current.
- This orthogonality restricts efficient control of magnetization direction in spintronic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To overcome limitations of conventional spin-source materials in spintronic applications.
- To explore magnon-mediated spin-orbit torque using multiferroic BiFeO3 integrated with a spin-source material.
- To achieve deterministic, field-free switching of in-plane magnetization.
Main Methods:
- Integration of insulating multiferroic BiFeO3 with a conventional spin-source material.
- Utilizing magnon-mediated spin-orbit torque.
- Investigating the interplay between cycloidal antiferromagnetic order and ferroelectric domains in BiFeO3.
Main Results:
- Excitation of unconventional magnon polarization from conventional spin polarization in BiFeO3.
- Generation of unconventional magnon torque.
- Demonstration of deterministic, field-free switching of in-plane magnetization collinear with current direction.
Conclusions:
- Multiferroic-based heterostructures serve as symmetry-engineered magnon spin sources.
- This approach enables magnetization switching unattainable with conventional spin-source materials.
- Paves the way for developing low-power, highly efficient spintronic devices.
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