Electric-field Switching of Interlayer Magnetic Order in a van der Waals Heterobilayer via Spin-potential Coupling

Abstract

Electric-field switching of magnetic order is of significant physical interest and holds great potential for spintronic applications. However, it has rarely been reported in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnets due to the inherently weak interaction between spin order and electric fields. Here we propose a general spin-potential mechanism that significantly enhances the magnetoelectric coupling. As a result, the relative stability of different interlayer magnetic orders in an asymmetric van der Waals heterobilayer can be reversed by external electric fields via spin-potential coupling. Based on this mechanism, we designed a series of 2D vdW all-magnetic heterobilayers, such as CrI3/MnSe2, in which a transition from interlayer ferromagnetic (iFM) to antiferromagnetic (iAFM) order is realized by a feasible electric field around 0.1 V/{\AA}. Our findings not only reveal a novel magnetoelectric coupling mechanism, but also present a practical strategy for achieving pure electric-field-driven magnetic order switching