Antiferromagnetic pseudospintronics without spin splitting

Abstract

Antiferromagnets (AFMs) are promising for high-density spintronics due to their zero net magnetization, yet conventional AFM spintronics relies on spin splitting-a requirement that excludes many collinear AFMs with compensated spin sublattices. Here we exploit the sublattice degree of freedom in a honeycomb AFM with zero spin splitting. We uncover a coupling between spin and sublattice: the out-of-plane pseudospin polarization is spin-dependent, a mechanism we term partial pseudospin-spin coupling. This allows switching of the pseudospin polarization by reversing the Néel vector. Introducing an impurity into a specific sublattice induces Friedel oscillations with a sublattice-resolved amplitude ratio dictated solely by the pseudospin polarization, which is directly measurable by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Furthermore, we demonstrate Néel-vector-controlled transmission and a large nonvolatile tunneling magnetoresistance in an all-in-one AFM junction, with pronounced resonant enhancement in gate-tunable two-dimensional devices. Our work establishes a new paradigm-AFM pseudospintronics-that utilizes the sublattice pseudospin in zero-spin-splitting AFMs, extending spintronics beyond the conventional spin-splitting paradigm.