Spin and charge conversion in two dimensional magnets

Interconversion between spin and charge degrees of freedom is one of the central goals of spintronics. In recent years, a host of quantum materials-Rashba interfaces, topological insulators, superconductors and non-collinear antiferromagnets-have emerged as promising candidate material systems, where various novel spin-dependent phenomena allow for efficient spin and charge interconversion [npj Quantum Materials 3, 27 (2018)]. More recently, van der Waal magnets (such as CrI₃) [Nature 546, 270(2017)] have emerged as a unique two-dimensional platform, where electron-electron interactions can be significantly altered-from being ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic-by charge doping [Nature Mat. 17, 406 (2018)]. In this work, we develop a phenomenological theory of spin-charge interconversion enabled by electrically controlled spin-spin interactions in these two-dimensional magnets, predicting new efficient schemes for converting between spin and charge. In combination with the unique toolkit of heterostructure engineering offered by the van der Waal materials [Science 353, aac9439 (2016)], the predicted spin charge interconversion could give rise to a new set of nonvolatile spintronics devices.