Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery in the realm of two-dimensional magnetic materials, revealing how their properties change as they become thinner. This advancement could lead to revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, from more efficient electronics to innovative computing devices.
Dimensional Crossover Review: Exploring
Now, a team of physicists report observing a unique transition from 3D long-range order state to 2D vestigial order-state in nickel phosphorus trisulfide (NiPS3), the type of van der Waals material.
They say the running light discovery is important because it could help researchers learn how to control properties of magnetism at the nanoscale. When a material is made to be less than 100 atoms thick, things come into play that may have never been relevant until now, and this can be used to unlock new applications in electronics, data storage, and devices.
The Secrets of Vestigial Order Deciphered
This gave rise to an intermediate order in NiPS3 forming vestigial order, where the case in when structural and magnetic states break time reversal symmetry. Above, this is the phenomenon by which a primary magnetic long-range order state gives way to a secondary naked (two-stranded) Z3 nematic long-range order state [8].
Whereas typical symmetry breaking happens from the breaking of all symmetries, vestigial order only breaks few symmetries. This idea has been studied in theory but causing it has proven hard. However, this 2D magnetic material is the first to be experimentally formed and thus also shows that exactly such a phenomenon can indeed exist through dimension crossover.
Conclusion
The record-breaking field-effect responses the researchers observed on multilayer WTe2 significantly advance our knowledge about what makes a 2D system special and bring us one step closer to Feynman’s dream of programmable, atomically thin materials and devices. As a consequence, this advance could pave the way for fabricating a multitude of planar electronic devices with excellent overall performance and low power consumption, as well as interesting properties including mechanical flexibility and optical transparency. Layered materials such as multilayer graphene and NiPS3 are at the forefront of future technology.
