Multiferroics are materials with both electric polarization and spontaneous magnetization. It has been theoretically predicted that some helical spin structures induce electric polarization, followed by experimental confirmations in various insulating materials. Such multiferroics attracted interests in terms of their potential application to memory or spintronic devices. However, the target materials were limited to insulators, in which the electric polarization is well-defined. In this study, the electronic polarity, a counterpart concept for electric polarization in a metal, is electrically detected and controlled. The electronic polarity is controlled via the switching of spin rotation direction of helimagnetic structure by applying electric current, and detected through the nonreciprocal resistivity. Here, it is revealed that the toroidal moment, a characteristic order parameter in multiferroics plays an important role. The realization and controllability of multiferroics in metals would expand the scope of research in multiferroics and pave a way to novel spintronic devices.
Papers
Journal: Advanced Materials
Title: Current Control of Spin Helicity and Nonreciprocal Charge Transport in a Multiferroic Conductor
Authors: Daiki Yamaguchi*, Aki Kitaori, Naoto Nagaosa, Yoshinori Tokura*
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202420614
Spontaneous Polarization Induced Photovoltaic Effect In Rhombohedrally Stacked MoS2
