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Generation of Pure Spin Current with Insulating Antiferromagnetic Materials
Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 146703 – Published 3 October, 2025Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 149901 (2026)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/n8d2-hjnd
Abstract
The generation of pure spin currents is critical for low-dissipation spintronic applications, yet existing methods relying on spin-orbit coupling or ferromagnetic interfaces face challenges in material compatibility and operational robustness. We propose a paradigm-shifting approach to generate symmetry-protected pure spin currents by applying mechanical stress on insulating antiferromagnetic materials, i.e., the pure piezospintronic effect. We first classify magnetic point groups enabling pure piezospintronic effects. A novel first-principles method is developed to compute the spin dipole moments and coefficients of the piezospintronic effect. Integrating these methodologies with high-throughput screening, we identify FeOOH, , and NaMn (, Bi, P, Sb) with significant pure piezospintronic effects. Interestingly, we reveal that the ionic displacement contribution dominates the piezospintronic effect, in contrast to the piezoelectric effect. Our study not only provides a first-principles approach for investigating spin dipole moment related phenomena (e.g., ferrotoroidicity, fractional quantum spin dipole moment, piezospintronics), but also provides promising piezospintronic materials for experimental verification and industrial applications.