Valley splitting in the antiferromagnetic heterostructure MnPSe3/WSe2

Abstract

The spin degeneracy in antiferromagnets hinders the spin splitting valleys, which limits their application in spintronic and valleytronic devices. In the two dimensional (2D) antiferromagnetic (AFM) heterostructure MnPSe₃/WSe₂, the coexistence of spin–orbit, spin–valley, and interlayer coupling produces the spin splitting valence band maximum (VBM) from the nonmagnetic semiconductor WSe₂ and the spin splitting conduction band minimum (CBM) from the antiferromagnet MnPSe₃, which results in a sizable spin- and k-resolved valley splitting larger than 30 meV. In addition, normal strain proves to be an effective approach to regulate valley splitting through interlayer coupling.