Efficient Control of 2D Magnets

The emergent two-dimensional (2D) layered magnets provide ideal platforms to enable the atomic-thin magneto-optical and magnetoelectric devices. Though many have envisioned that 2D magnets should allow efficient control of magnetism by a variety of external stimuli, true breakthroughs are still lacking, with limited proof-of-concept demonstrations reported thus far. There appear to be fundamental obstacles for efficient control, e.g., through electrical and optical means. In this talk I will analyze the challenges and present our theoretical and experimental progress on efficient electrical and optical control of 2D magnets. Specifically, the results show that the laser shinning of tens of uW/um² can effectively affect 2D magnets, and the voltage of a few volts can effectively change the magnetic anisotropy of 2D magnets. These efficient controls of 2D magnets potentially open up new avenues towards low-power spintronics and photonics.