Open AccessTunable magnetic anisotropy in Cr–trihalide Janus monolayers
Author(s) -
Rehab Albaridy,
Aurélien Manchon,
Udo Schwingenschlögl
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of physics. condensed matter
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 228
eISSN - 1361-648X
pISSN - 0953-8984
DOI - 10.1088/1361-648x/ab8986
Subject(s) - janus , materials science , trihalide , monolayer , anisotropy , condensed matter physics , spintronics , strain engineering , magnetic anisotropy , ferromagnetism , ultimate tensile strength , magnetostriction , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , optics , composite material , magnetic field , chemistry , magnetization , physics , halide , inorganic chemistry , quantum mechanics , silicon
Achieving a two-dimensional material with tunable magnetic anisotropy is highly desirable, especially if it is complemented with out-of-plane electric polarization, as this could provide a versatile platform for spintronic and multifunctional devices. Using first principles calculations, we demonstrate that the magnetic anisotropy of Cr–trihalides become highly sensitive to mechanical strain upon structural inversion symmetry breaking through the realization of Janus monolayers. This remarkable feature, absent in pristine Cr–trihalide monolayers, enables mechanical control of the direction of the easy axis: biaxial compressive/tensile strain supports in-plane/out-of-plane orientation of the easy axis. The magnetic exchange itself shows higher sensitivity to compressive than to tensile strain, while in general the Janus monolayers maintain ferromagnetic ordering in the studied range of strain.