Vanishing Altermagnetism and Emergent Ferromagnetism at the Two-Dimensional Limit of CrSb
Abstract
Altermagnets offer a promising route to spintronic devices by combining spin-split electronic states with zero net magnetization, but how reduced dimensionality reshapes their magnetic order remains poorly understood. Here, we grow bilayer-thickness CrSb (0001) films directly on SrTiO3(001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy and uncover an unexpected thickness-dependent magnetic transition. The one-bilayer films exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, whereas ferromagnetism vanishes in two-bilayer films, contrasting sharply with the altermagnetic ground state of bulk CrSb. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the exposed Cr surface induces orbital rearrangement that strengthens intralayer ferromagnetic exchange while suppressing competing interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling, driving the dimensional crossover from altermagnetism to ferromagnetism. These findings establish dimensionality and surface termination as powerful controls of magnetic order and provide a platform for engineering ultrathin magnetic states for spintronic applications.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{liu2026vanishing,
title = {{Vanishing Altermagnetism and Emergent Ferromagnetism at the Two-Dimensional Limit of CrSb}},
author = {Yunlong Liu and Zixuan Wu and Qinxi Liu and Yupeng Zhi and Mingqiang Ren and Xue Jiang and Canli Song and Ding Zhang and Xucun Ma and Huimin Zhang and Jijun Zhao},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.09664},
eprint = {2610.09664},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.09664},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Vanishing Altermagnetism and Emergent Ferromagnetism at the Two-Dimensional Limit of CrSb
AU - Yunlong Liu
AU - Zixuan Wu
AU - Qinxi Liu
AU - Yupeng Zhi
AU - Mingqiang Ren
AU - Xue Jiang
AU - Canli Song
AU - Ding Zhang
AU - Xucun Ma
AU - Huimin Zhang
AU - Jijun Zhao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.09664
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.09664
AB - Altermagnets offer a promising route to spintronic devices by combining spin-split electronic states with zero net magnetization, but how reduced dimensionality reshapes their magnetic order remains poorly understood. Here, we grow bilayer-thickness CrSb (0001) films directly on SrTiO3(001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy and uncover an unexpected thickness-dependent magnetic transition. The one-bilayer films exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, whereas ferromagnetism vanishes in two-bilayer films, contrasting sharply with the altermagnetic ground state of bulk CrSb. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the exposed Cr surface induces orbital rearrangement that strengthens intralayer ferromagnetic exchange while suppressing competing interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling, driving the dimensional crossover from altermagnetism to ferromagnetism. These findings establish dimensionality and surface termination as powerful controls of magnetic order and provide a platform for engineering ultrathin magnetic states for spintronic applications.
ER -