Tailoring Altermagnetic Spin Splitting via Strain‐Induced Symmetry Reconstruction in CrSb Thin Films

Altermagnets represent a novel class of quantum magnets that emerge from specific crystal symmetry operations, particularly rotations or mirror reflections, exhibiting unique momentum-dependent spin-split band structures within the antiferromagnetic regime. The spin textures of altermagnets are fundamentally governed by spin group symmetry, offering unique opportunities for magnetic property control. However, experimentally tuning their spin-splitting via symmetry engineering remains a key challenge. Here, interfacial strain in 10 nm CrSb thin films by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is engineered to systematically modify its crystal symmetry. Remarkably, high-resolution spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES) measurements revealed a transition to a spin-degenerate ground state throughout the entire Brillouin zone, quantitatively demonstrating strain control over altermagnetic spin splitting. Although bulk altermagnetic theory anticipates spin-splitting, thin films exhibit spin degeneracy instead, which this first-principles calculations trace to interfacial strain-mediated surface magnetic state stabilization. In CrSb thin films, strain-induced magnetic reconstruction preserves PT symmetry (spatial inversion followed by time reversal), thereby enforces spin degeneracy across the Brillouin zone, as evidenced by the quantitative agreement between calculated spin/electronic structures and spin-ARPES measurements. This strategy establishes a new paradigm for tailoring altermagnetic spin splitting through engineered symmetry, addressing a critical gap in spectroscopic investigations of altermagnetic systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2025-10-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202515712
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Magnetic properties of thin films
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.25

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article

Tailoring Altermagnetic Spin Splitting via Strain‐Induced Symmetry Reconstruction in CrSb Thin Films

Zhengtai Liu, Yongbing Xu, Wei Niu, Lixin He et al.
1 citations
Advanced Materials
Magnetic properties of thin films
1.25
article

Tailoring Altermagnetic Spin Splitting via Strain‐Induced Symmetry Reconstruction in CrSb Thin Films

Zhengtai Liu, Yongbing Xu, Wei Niu, Lixin He, Guang Bian, Huayao Li, Si Zhang, Lin Miao, Zhe Sun, Meng Zeng, Chao Li, Yi Liu, Shuo Wang, Xiaoqian Zhang, Shan Qiao, Mao Ye, Chang Liu, Lulu Han, Shixin Song, Xue‐Zeng Lu, Wenting Lin, Zhuangzhi Shen, Quan Ren
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Altermagnets represent a novel class of quantum magnets that emerge from specific crystal symmetry operations, particularly rotations or mirror reflections, exhibiting unique momentum-dependent spin-split band structures within the antiferromagnetic regime. The spin textures of altermagnets are fundamentally governed by spin group symmetry, offering unique opportunities for magnetic property control. However, experimentally tuning their spin-splitting via symmetry engineering remains a key challenge. Here, interfacial strain in 10 nm CrSb thin films by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is engineered to systematically modify its crystal symmetry. Remarkably, high-resolution spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES) measurements revealed a transition to a spin-degenerate ground state throughout the entire Brillouin zone, quantitatively demonstrating strain control over altermagnetic spin splitting. Although bulk altermagnetic theory anticipates spin-splitting, thin films exhibit spin degeneracy instead, which this first-principles calculations trace to interfacial strain-mediated surface magnetic state stabilization. In CrSb thin films, strain-induced magnetic reconstruction preserves PT symmetry (spatial inversion followed by time reversal), thereby enforces spin degeneracy across the Brillouin zone, as evidenced by the quantitative agreement between calculated spin/electronic structures and spin-ARPES measurements. This strategy establishes a new paradigm for tailoring altermagnetic spin splitting through engineered symmetry, addressing a critical gap in spectroscopic investigations of altermagnetic systems.

Advanced MaterialsVol. 38(5)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Southern University of Science and Technology (CN), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN), Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (CN), National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN), Southeast University (CN), University of Missouri (US), Nanjing University (CN)
National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Government of Jiangsu Province, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, Southeast University, University of Science and Technology of China, Southern University of Science and Technology, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Division of Materials Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Magnetic properties of thin films
1.25
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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