A research team describes a method to manipulate magnetism in intercalated two-dimensional magnets through a heat-assisted process controlled electrically. The technique combines a thermal pulse with an electrical stimulus to switch or tune the magnetic state of these few-atom-thick material flakes, avoiding the need for the intense external magnetic fields typically required by conventional devices.

Intercalated 2D magnets —crystalline structures just a few atoms thick in which atoms or molecules are inserted between the layers— have attracted growing interest as a platform for low-dimensional spintronics. Their magnetism can be tuned by altering the intercalated species, but reliably and efficiently controlling the orientation of their magnetic moments remains a challenge for practical device design.

The approach presented relies on combining localized heating —which temporarily lowers the energy barrier fixing the magnetization direction— with a simultaneously applied electric field that breaks symmetry and favors a specific orientation of the magnetic moment. Once the thermal stimulus is withdrawn, the system is trapped in the new state, allowing magnetic information to be written reproducibly.

The work is part of the effort to develop low-power magnetic memory and logic in which switching is achieved without coils or high fields. The authors suggest that this strategy of thermal assistance with electrical control could be extended to other two-dimensional magnetic compounds, paving the way for more compact and energy-efficient spintronic devices.