Issue 38, 2021

Switching interlayer magnetic order in bilayer CrI3 by stacking reversal

Abstract

CrI3, a hot two-dimensional (2D) magnet, exhibits complex magnetism depending on the number of layers and interlayer stacking patterns. For bilayer CrI3, the interlayer magnetism can be tuned between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) order by manipulating the stacking order. However, the stacking is mostly modified through translation between the layers, while the effect of rotation between the layers on the interlayer magnetic order has not yet been fully investigated. Here, we considered three energetically stable stacking patterns R[3 with combining macron], C2/m and AA in bilayer CrI3, and their reversed counterparts R[3 with combining macron]-r, C2/m-r and AA-r through rotating one layer by 180° with respect to the other layer. Our first-principles calculations suggest that the interlayer magnetic ground state can be switched from AFM to FM (or FM to AFM) by reversing the stacking pattern. A detailed microscopic analysis was carried out by magnetic force theory calculations on C2/m stacking which favors AFM and C2/m-r stacking which favors FM. The interlayer magnetic interactions and the origin of the magnetic order change were revealed through specific orbital analysis. Our work demonstrates that stacking rotation can also tune the interlayer magnetism of CrI3 and provides insight into its interlayer magnetic properties at the microscopic level.

Graphical abstract: Switching interlayer magnetic order in bilayer CrI3 by stacking reversal

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Apu 2021
Accepted
26 Agu 2021
First published
01 Seb 2021

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 16172-16181

Author version available

Switching interlayer magnetic order in bilayer CrI3 by stacking reversal

X. Kong, H. Yoon, M. J. Han and L. Liang, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 16172 DOI: 10.1039/D1NR02480A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements