Interface-Controlled Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junctions: A New Path for Next-Generation Spintronics

Published on Quantum Server Networks

Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junction Research

A team of researchers at the Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Prof. Shao Dingfu, has introduced a groundbreaking approach to spintronic technology. Their work, published in Newton and reported by Phys.org , demonstrates how interface-controlled antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs) can serve as a foundation for faster, denser, and more energy-efficient electronics.

Why Spintronics Matters

Traditional electronics rely solely on the electron’s charge, but spintronics leverages both charge and spin, enabling devices that promise higher speed, lower energy consumption, and increased data density. Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), the cornerstone of spintronic devices, are already used in memory storage technologies. However, MTJs typically employ ferromagnetic components, which introduce unwanted magnetic fields and slower response times.

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials have long been considered promising alternatives because they exhibit no net magnetism and ultrafast spin dynamics. Yet, their implementation has been restricted, since conventional AFM tunnel junctions rely heavily on bulk material properties, limiting design flexibility.

The Breakthrough: Interface-Controlled AFMTJs

Prof. Shao’s team shifted the paradigm by focusing on the interface rather than the bulk of AFM materials. Through first-principles simulations, they engineered a novel AFMTJ using a two-dimensional A-type AFM metal, Fe₄GeTe₂, combined with a boron nitride (BN) insulating barrier. Surprisingly, even though Fe₄GeTe₂ is spin-degenerate in its bulk, strong spin-polarized currents emerged at the interfaces.

These currents proved robust across varying electrode thicknesses and layer arrangements, highlighting the purely interface-driven origin of the effect. Most impressively, the device achieved a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) near 100%, rivaling state-of-the-art ferromagnetic designs.

Implications for Next-Generation Devices

This discovery could transform the design of memory and logic devices in the post-Moore era. By exploiting interface effects, scientists can vastly expand the range of usable AFM materials. Since many AFM compounds can be grown with tunable stacking orders, this approach opens the door to customizable van der Waals heterostructures with unique spintronic functionalities.

As noted in a commentary by Prof. Jose Lado (Aalto University) and Prof. Saroj P. Dash (Chalmers University of Technology), this research marks a “conceptual breakthrough” in AFM spintronics, showing that uncompensated AFM interfaces could underpin an entirely new class of heterostructure devices.

Looking Ahead

Spintronics is widely regarded as one of the most promising routes beyond the limitations of Moore’s Law. The interface-controlled AFMTJ represents not just an incremental improvement, but a new design principle that could accelerate the transition from traditional charge-based electronics to hybrid spin-charge platforms.

The potential applications span ultra-dense data storage, neuromorphic computing, quantum information processing, and even low-power logic circuits for energy-efficient computing infrastructures.

Source: Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Original article available at Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2025-08-interface-antiferromagnetic-tunnel-junctions-path.html

This blog article was prepared with the assistance of AI technologies to support research communication.

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#Spintronics #Antiferromagnetics #MaterialsScience #Nanotechnology #QuantumServerNetworks #PhysicsInnovation #Semiconductors #NextGenComputing

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