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Interface engineering and electric control of magnetocrystalline anisotropy in two-dimensional magnets

Zixin Li1, Lingxi Qiu1,2, Yipeng An3, Qingfeng Zhan1, and Shi-Jing Gong1,2,*

  • 1Engineering Research Center of Nanophotonics & Advanced Instrument (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
  • 2Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
  • 3School of Materials Science and Engineering & School of Physics, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China

  • *Contact author: sjgong@ee.ecnu.edu.cn

Phys. Rev. B 113, L020406 – Published 12 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/t4pq-9vmq

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials provide an ideal platform for atomic-scale engineering of both structural and magnetoelectric (ME) properties. Through first-principles density functional theory calculations, we systematically investigate the magnetic and electronic properties of monolayer Cr2Si2Te6, Cr2Si2Se6, Janus-type Cr2Si2Te3Se3, and Cr2Si2Te6−MoSe2 heterostructures under vertical electric fields. Remarkably, both the Janus structure (Cr2Si2Te3Se3) and the heterostructure Cr2Si2Te6−MoSe2 demonstrate more than tenfold enhancement in magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy tunability compared to pristine Cr2Si2Te6. This dramatic enhancement originates from symmetry-breaking effects: in pristine Cr2Si2Te6 and Cr2Si2Te6 monolayers, the inherent mirror symmetry leads to cancellation of net ME responses, whereas in the engineered asymmetry in Janus and heterostructure systems, subsurface layers play a predominant role in ME effects. These fundamental insights not only advance our understanding of 2D ME phenomena but also provide a clear design strategy for developing next-generation, electric-field-tunable spintronic devices.

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