Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated that subjecting altermagnets to mechanical pressure can produce significant changes in their magnetic characteristics. The findings appear in two consecutive publications in Physical Review X and Advanced Materials. The experiments employed neutron diffraction techniques to examine how compression affects these materials at the structural level.
The research focused on altermagnets, an emerging class of materials with potential applications in advanced electronics and computing. One key area of interest involves spintronics, a field that harnesses electron spin properties alongside electrical charge to process and store information. Scientists believe that developing suitable altermagnet materials could enable advances in wireless communication, quantum computing, and related technologies. The ability to control magnetic properties through mechanical means could provide a straightforward approach to managing these materials for technological applications.
To conduct their experiments, the ORNL team compressed tiny crystals of manganese telluride and iron sulfide between titanium plates while using neutron scattering instruments at the facility’s Spallation Neutron Source to observe internal changes. The measurements revealed that applied pressure altered the distribution of magnetic domains within the crystals. Additionally, the compression affected the anomalous Hall effect, an electrical phenomenon within the materials, indicating that mechanical strain influences both magnetic structure and electron behavior.
According to Feng Ye, a neutron scientist and co-author of both publications, the results demonstrate how straightforward experimental approaches can reveal new mechanisms for manipulating magnetic materials. The findings suggest pathways for developing components suitable for future spintronic devices and related technologies.
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