Competing antiferromagnetic phases in multiferroic wurtzite transition-metal chalcogenides
Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 064408 – Published 9 June, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fr1l-q5qs
Abstract
Antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics offers a pathway toward electrically controllable spin-based devices beyond ferromagnets. Here, we identify wurtzite ( = S, Se, Te) as a family of multiferroic materials hosting competing AFM phases, including altermagnetic, where nonrelativistic spin splitting can be controlled by ferroelectric polarization. Using density functional theory and atomistic spin-model calculations, we show that all pristine compounds stabilize a stripe-type collinear AFM ground state, contrary to earlier predictions of an altermagnetic ground state, with the magnetic order governed by frustrated Heisenberg and biquadratic exchange interactions. We further demonstrate that Cr doping drives a transition to an A-type AFM phase that breaks Kramers spin degeneracy and realizes a -wave altermagnetic state with large nonrelativistic spin splitting near the Fermi level. Importantly, this spin splitting can be deterministically reversed by polarization switching, enabling electric-field control of altermagnetic electronic structure without reorienting the Néel vector or relying on spin-orbit coupling. The close energetic proximity of the stripe AFM to a noncollinear all-in–all-out configuration indicates that wurtzite lies near a topological magnetic phase with finite scalar spin chirality, which may be stabilized by modest perturbations such as temperature, strain, or chemical tuning. The distinct magnetic phases exhibit symmetry-selective linear and nonlinear Hall responses, providing direct transport signatures of altermagnetism and polarization control. Together, these results establish doped wurtzite as a promising platform for altermagnet-ferroelectric multiferroics and electrically controlled AFM spintronics.
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Altermagnetic and Related Materials
Editors of Physical Review Materials are pleased to present the Collection on Altermagnetic and Related Materials, highlighting cutting-edge advances in theoretical and experimental identification of novel altermagnetic materials, their properties, and their potential applications. The Collection is being guest-edited by Kirill Belashchenko of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA), Cheng Song of Tsinghua University (China), and Peter Wadley of The University of Nottingham (UK). Every article published in this collection underwent a rigorous peer review process, adhering to the same high standards applied to all papers. The Physical Review Materials editorial team managed the peer review and made all editorial decisions.
