Discovery of Intrinsic Ferromagnetic Ferroelectricity in Transition Metal Halides Monolayer

The realization of multiferroics in nanostructures, combined with a large electric dipole and ferromagnetic ordering, could lead to new applications, such as high-density multi-state data storage. Although multiferroics have been broadly studied for decades, ferromagnetic ferroelectricity is rarely explored, especially in two-dimensional (2D) systems. Here we report the discovery of 2D ferromagnetic ferroelectricity in layered transition metal halide systems. On the basis of first-principles calculations, we reveal that charged CrBr3 monolayer exhibits in-plane multiferroicity, which is ensured by the combination of orbital and charge ordering as realized by the asymmetric Jahn-Teller distortions of octahedral Cr-Br6 units. As an example, we further show that (CrBr3)2Li is a ferromagnetic ferroelectric multiferroic. The explored phenomena and mechanism of multiferroics in this 2D system are not only useful for fundamental research in multiferroics but also enable a wide range of applications in nano-devices.
Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett