Fully Spin-Polarized Nodal Loop Semimetals in Alkaline Metal Monochalcogenide Monolayers

A 2D low-buckled hexagonal honeycomb Weyl-point spin-gapless semiconductor family with the quantum anomalous Hall effect

Spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs), serving as superior alternatives to half-metals, open up new avenues in spintronics. Specifically, Weyl-point SGSs (WPSGSs) with ideal Weyl points at the Fermi energy level represent an optimal amalgamation of spintronics and topological physics. Moreover, considering spin-orbital coupling (SOC), most two-dimensional (2D) WPSGSs undergo transformation into half Chern insulators (HCIs) with the emergence of the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE). The 2D I-II-V half-Heusler compounds, constituting a broad family of narrow-bandgap semiconductors with low-buckled hexagonal honeycomb crystal structures akin to silicene, aptly function as SGSs and serve as nontrivial topological parent materials. Through first-principles calculations, we propose that the Li12X10Cr2Y12 (X = Mg, Zn, Cd; Y = P, As) monolayers, derived by substituting certain X atoms in the LiXY (X = Mg, Zn, Cd; Y = P, As) monolayers of I-II-V half-Heusler compounds with Cr atoms, emerge as potential candidates for ideal 2D WPSGSs. These monolayers exhibit stable thermodynamic properties and 100% spin polarization. With SOC taken into account, the Li12X10Cr2Y12 monolayers transition into HCIs with a Chern number of +1, giving rise to the QAHE. These intriguing findings lay the groundwork for a promising material platform for the development of low-power spintronic and topological microelectronic devices.

Magnetic topological materials in two-dimensional: theory, material realization and application prospects

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetism and nontrivial band topology are both areas of research that are currently receiving significant attention in the study of 2D materials. Recently, a novel class of materials has emerged, known as 2D magnetic topological materials, which elegantly combine 2D magnetism and nontrivial topology. This field has garnered increasing interest, especially due to the emergence of several novel magnetic topological states that have been generalized into the 2D scale. These states include antiferromagnetic topological insulators/semimetals, second-order topological insulators, and topological half-metals. Despite the rapid advancements in this emerging research field in recent years, there have been few comprehensive summaries of the state-of-the-art progress. Therefore, this review aims to provide a thorough analysis of current progress on 2D magnetic topological materials. We cover various 2D magnetic topological insulators, a range of 2D magnetic topological semimetals, and the novel 2D topological half-metals, systematically analyzing the basic topological theory, the course of development, the material realization, and potential applications. Finally, we discuss the challenges and prospects for 2D magnetic topological materials, highlighting the potential for future breakthroughs in this exciting field.

Prediction of novel two-dimensional Dirac nodal line semimetals in Al2B2 and AlB4 monolayers

Topological semimetal phases in two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained widespread interest due to their potential applications in novel nanoscale devices. Despite the growing number of studies on 2D topological nodal lines (NLs), candidates with significant topological features that combine nontrivial topological semimetal phase with superconductivity are still rare. Herein, we predict Al₂B₂ and AlB₄ monolayers as new 2D nonmagnetic Dirac nodal line semimetals with several novel features. Our extensive electronic structure calculations combined with analytical studies reveal that, in addition to multiple Dirac points, these 2D configurations host various highly dispersed NLs around the Fermi level, all of which are semimetal states protected by time-reversal and in-plane mirror symmetries. The most intriguing NL in Al₂B₂ encloses the K point and crosses the Fermi level, showing a considerable dispersion and thus providing a fresh playground to explore exotic properties in dispersive Dirac nodal lines. More strikingly, for the AlB₄ monolayer, we provide the first evidence for a set of 2D nonmagnetic open type-II NLs coexisting with superconductivity at a rather high transition temperature. The coexistence of superconductivity and nontrivial band topology in AlB₄ not only makes it a promising material to exhibit novel topological superconducting phases, but also a rather large energy dispersion of type-II nodal lines in this configuration may offer a platform for the realization of novel topological features in the 2D limit.

Nodal-loop half metallicity in a two-dimensional Fe4N2 pentagon crystal with room-temperature ferromagnetism

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with fully spin-polarized nodal-loop band crossing are a class of topological magnetic materials, holding promise for high-speed low-dissipation spintronic devices. Recently, several 2D nodal-loop materials have been reported in theory and experiment, such as Cu₂Si, Be₂C, CuSe, and Cr₂S₃ monolayers, adopting triangular, tetragonal, hexagonal, or complex lattices. However, a 2D nodal-loop half metal with room-temperature magnetism is still less reported. Here, we report that the 2D Fe₄N₂ pentagon crystal is a nodal-loop half metal with room-temperature magnetism over 428 K and a global minimum structure via first-principles calculations and global structure search. The Dirac nodal lines in Fe₄N₂ form a flat nodal loop at the Fermi level and a spin-polarized type-II nodal-loop above the Fermi level, which are protected by mirror symmetry. Our results establish Fe₄N₂ as a platform to obtain nodal-loop half metallicity in the 2D pentagon lattice and provide opportunities to build high-speed low-dissipation spintronics in the nanoscale.

Insight into the Temperature Evolution of Electronic Structure and Mechanism of Exchange Interaction in EuS

Discovered in 1962, the divalent ferromagnetic semiconductor EuS (T_C = 16.5 K, E_g = 1.65 eV) has remained constantly relevant to the engineering of novel magnetically active interfaces, heterostructures, and multilayer sequences and to combination with topological materials. Because detailed information on the electronic structure of EuS and, in particular, its evolution across T_C is not well-represented in the literature but is essential for the development of new functional systems, the present work aims at filling this gap. Our angle-resolved photoemission measurements complemented with first-principles calculations demonstrate how the electronic structure of EuS evolves across a paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition. Our results emphasize the importance of the strong Eu 4f-S 3p mixing for exchange-magnetic splittings of the sulfur-derived bands as well as coupling between f and d orbitals of neighboring Eu atoms to derive the value of T_C accurately. The 4f-3p mixing facilitates the coupling between 4f and 5d orbitals of neighboring Eu atoms, which mainly governs the exchange interaction in EuS.

Fully spin-polarized Weyl fermions and in/out-of-plane quantum anomalous Hall effects in a two-dimensional d0 ferromagnet

The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) in intrinsic ferromagnets has attracted considerable attention recently. Previously, studies of the QAHE have mostly focused on the default assumption of out-of-plane magnetization. In fact, the QAHE can also be achieved via in-plane magnetization, but such candidate materials are very scarce. Here, we find that two-dimensional (2D) YN₂ not only possesses the previously reported out-of-plane QAHE, but it also possesses a tunable in-plane QAHE. More importantly, unlike the previously reported in-plane QAHE in d/f-type ferromagnets, here we report the effect in a 2D d⁰ ferromagnet, namely YN₂, for the first time. In the ground state, a YN₂ monolayer has a half-metal band structure, and manifests six pairs of fully spin-polarized Weyl points at the Fermi level. When spin-orbit coupling is included, the YN₂ monolayer can realize multiple topological phases, determined based on the magnetization direction. Under in-plane magnetization, the YN₂ monolayer shows either the Weyl state or in-plane QAHE state. Remarkably, the Chern number (±1) and the propagating direction of QAHE edge channels can be continuously switched via shifting the direction of the in-plane magnetic field. When magnetization is applied out-of-plane, the YN₂ monolayer realizes an out-of-plane QAHE phase with a high Chern number of 3. The nontrivial edge states for all the topological phases in the YN₂ monolayer have been clearly identified. This work suggests that 2D YN₂ is an excellent candidate for investigating in-plane QAHE phases in d⁰ ferromagnets.

Half-Dirac semimetals and the quantum anomalous Hall effect in Kagome Cd2N3 lattices

Half-Dirac semimetals (HDSs), which possess 100% spin-polarizations for Dirac materials, are highly desirable for exploring various topological phases of matter as low-dimensionality opens unprecedented opportunities for manipulating the quantum state of low-cost electronic nanodevices. The search for high-temperature HDSs is still a current hotspot and yet challenging experimentally. Herein based on first-principles calculations, we propose the realization of Half Dirac semimetals (HDS) in two-dimensional (2D) Kagome transition-metal nitride Cd₂N₃, which is robust against strain engineering. Monte Carlo simulations reveal that Cd₂N₃ possesses a Curie temperature reaching up to T _C = 225 K, which is much higher than that of the reported monolayers CrI₃ (T _C = 45 K) and Cr₂Ge₂Te₆ (T _C = 20 K). The band crossings in Cd₂N₃ are gapped out by the spin-orbit coupling, which brings about the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect with a sizeable band gap of E _g = 4.9 meV, characterized by the nonzero Chern number (C = 1) and chiral edge states. A tight-binding model is further used to clarify the origin of HDSs and nontrivial electronic properties. The results suggest monolayer transition-metal nitrides as a promising platform to explore fascinating physical phenomena associated with novel 2D emergent HDSs and QAH insulators toward realistic spintronics devices, thus stimulating experimental interest.

Various half-metallic nodal loops in organic Cr2N6C3 monolayers

Topological nodal-line semimetals, as a type of exotic quantum electronic state, have drawn considerable research interest recently. In this work, we propose a new two-dimensional covalent-organic Cr₂N₆C₃ monolayer (ML) material, which has a combined honeycomb and effective Kagome lattice and has various half-metallic nodal loops (HMNLs). First-principles calculations show that the Cr₂N₆C₃ ML is dynamically and thermally stable and has an out-of-plane ferromagnetic order. Remarkably, various nodal loops, including types I-III, are found coexisting in the material, all of which are rare half-metallic states. The obtained HMNLs, simultaneously possessing the merits of spintronics and semimetals, are robust against spin-orbit coupling and biaxial strain. A topological phase transition, characterized by loop-winding indexes, can be induced in the ML by applying uniaxial strain. Tight-binding model calculations show that the obtained HMNLs originate primarily from the band inversion between Cr d_x²-y²/xy and N p_z orbitals, accommodated on the honeycomb and Kagome sublattices, respectively. The various predicted HMNLs and topological behaviors mean that the Cr₂N₆C₃ MLs have promisingly versatile applications in future low-power-consuming spintronics and electronics.

2D CrCl2(pyrazine)2 monolayer: high-temperature ferromagnetism and half-metallicity

The ferromagnetism in Cr-based monolayers is of current interest (2019 Nat. Nanotechnol. 14 408), however, the Curie temperature is low. How can we enhance the thermal stability of ferromagnetism? Motivated by the recent synthesis of the layered conductive magnet CrCl₂(pyrazine)₂ (2018 Nat. Chem. 10 1056), we perform first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate that the exfoliated 2D CrCl₂(pyrazine)₂ monolayer is stable dynamically and thermally, and it is a ferromagnetic half-metal with a sizeable band gap of 2.8 eV in the semiconducting channel, and the strong in-plane Cr-Cr interaction results in a large magnetic anisotropy energy. Moreover, the sheet exhibits a high Curie temperature of 350 K due to the enhanced magnetic exchange interaction resulting from the aromatic property of pyrazine. All of these intriguing features endow 2D CrCl₂(pyrazine)₂ sheet with good potentials for applications in nanoscale spintronics devices.

Glide Mirror Plane Protected Nodal-Loop in an Anisotropic Half-Metallic MnNF Monolayer

Two-dimensional (2D) nodal-loop (NL) semimetals have attracted tremendous attention for their abundant physics and potential device applications, whereas the realization of gapless NL semimetals robust against spin-orbit coupling (SOC) remains a big challenge. Recently, breakthroughs have been made with the realization of gapless NL semimetals in 2D half-metallic materials, where NLs were protected by a horizontal mirror plane symmetry. Here we first propose an alternative nonsymmorphic horizontal glide mirror plane symmetry which could protect the NLs in 2D materials. On the basis of comprehensive first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis, we found that the glide mirror symmetry together with intrinsic out-of-plane spin polarization can protect the NL against SOC in a half-metallic semimetal, namely, the MnNF monolayer. Moreover, we predict that the MnNF monolayer has strong anisotropic characteristics, tunable band structure by changing the magnetization direction, and 100% spin-polarized transport properties. Our work not only provides a novel 2D half-metallic semimetal with strong anisotropy but also broadens the scope of 2D nodal-loop materials.

Room temperature ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism in two-dimensional iron arsenides

The discovery of two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials with high critical temperature and intrinsic magnetic properties has attracted significant research interest. By using swarm-intelligence structure search and first-principles calculations, we predict three 2D iron arsenide monolayers (denoted as FeAs-I, II and III) with good energetic and dynamical stabilities. We find that FeAs-I and II are ferromagnets, while FeAs-III is an antiferromagnet. FeAs-I and III have sizable magnetic anisotropy comparable to the magnetic recording materials such as the FeCo alloy. Importantly, we show that FeAs-I and III have critical temperatures of 645 K and 350 K, respectively, which are above room temperature. In addition, FeAs-I and II are metallic, while FeAs-III is semiconducting with a gap comparable to Si. For FeAs-III, there exist two pairs of 2D antiferromagnetic Dirac points below the Fermi level, and it displays a giant magneto band-structure effect. The superior magnetic and electronic properties of the FeAs monolayers make them promising candidates for spintronics applications.