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    All-Electrical Self-Switching of van der Waals Chiral Antiferromagnet

    Junlin Xiong1,*, Jiawei Jiang1,2,*, Yanwei Cui1,*,†, Han Gao3,*, Ji Zhou1, Zijia Liu4, KuiKui Zhang5, Shaobo Cheng5, Kehui Wu4 et al.

    Sang-Wook Cheong6, Kai Chang2, Zhongkai Liu3,‡, Hongxin Yang2,§, Shi-Jun Liang1, Bin Cheng1,7,∥, and Feng Miao1,8,¶

    • 1Institute of Brain-Inspired Intelligence, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
    • 2Center for Quantum Matter, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
    • 3School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech Laboratory for Topological Physics, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
    • 4Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
    • 5Henan Key Laboratory of Diamond Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Key Laboratory of Material Physics, Ministry of Education, School of Physics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China
    • 6Center for Quantum Materials Synthesis and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
    • 7Institute of Interdisciplinary Physical Sciences, School of Science, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
    • 8Jiangsu Physical Science Research Center, Nanjing 210093, China

    • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
    • †Contact author: ywcui@nju.edu.cn
    • ‡Contact author: liuzhk@shanghaitech.edu.cn
    • §Contact author: hongxin.yang@zju.edu.cn
    • ∥Contact author: bincheng@njust.edu.cn
    • Contact author: miao@nju.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 206701 – Published 12 November, 2025

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2vc9-t8qt

    Abstract

    Antiferromagnets have garnered significant attention due to their negligible stray field and ultrafast magnetic dynamics, which are promising for high-density and ultrafast spintronic applications. Their dual functionality as both spin sources and information carriers could enable all-electrical self-induced switching of antiferromagnetic order, offering great potential for ultracompact spintronic devices. However, related progress is still elusive. Here, we report the deterministic switching of chiral antiferromagnetic orders induced by charge current at zero external magnetic field in the van der Waals magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide CoTa3S6. This system exhibits strong interactions between cobalt atom magnetic moment lattice and itinerant electrons within the metallic layers, as demonstrated by temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, and topological Nernst effect measurements. Notably, the itinerant-localization interactions lead to current-induced chiral spin-orbit torques as well as Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida exchange torques that interact with the localized magnetic moments, facilitating all-electrical switching of the chiral magnetic order in the CoTa3S6 flake. Our Letter opens a promising avenue for manipulating antiferromagnetic orders by delicately engineering the synergistic interactions between magnetic moments and itinerant electrons.

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