English

Interface-Engineered Giant Multistate Resistance Switching in Altermagnetic CrSb Multiferroic Tunnel Junctions

Materials Science 2026-07-17 v1

Abstract

Altermagnets enable spin-split transport without stray magnetic fields, yet converting their momentum-dependent spin splitting into a strong tunnel-junction response requires interface-selected tunneling channels. Here, using density functional theory combined with nonequilibrium Green's function calculations, we demonstrate giant multistate resistance switching in CrSb/α\alpha-In2_2Se3_3 altermagnetic multiferroic tunnel junctions. The response is governed not by the bulk spin splitting of CrSb alone, but by a symmetry-selected interfacial mechanism in which Cr/Sb terminations and \textit{h}-BN or graphene insertion layers determine spin-channel matching, while ferroelectric polarization reshapes the electrostatic barrier. Symmetric and asymmetric terminations reverse the correspondence between parallel/antiparallel N\'eel-vector configurations and high-/low-resistance states, showing that the actual alignment of interfacial Cr moments selects the dominant tunneling channels. Monolayer-In2_2Se3_3 junctions exhibit four nonvolatile resistance states, with tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and tunneling electroresistance (TER) reaching 1626\% and 2206\%, respectively, and increasing to 9576\% and 4144\% upon Fermi-level shifting. Finite-bias calculations further reveal robust spin filtering and tunable spin-polarized currents. Extending the barrier to bilayer In2_2Se3_3 introduces interlayer polarization coupling, enabling eight resistance states with maximum TMR and TER values of 3.77×104%3.77\times10^{4}\% and 4.18×105%4.18\times10^{5}\%, respectively. These results establish interface symmetry, spin-channel matching, and ferroelectric barrier reconstruction as design principles for stray-field-free multistate spintronic tunnel devices.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.15728,
  title  = {Interface-Engineered Giant Multistate Resistance Switching in Altermagnetic CrSb Multiferroic Tunnel Junctions},
  author = {Zhi Yan and Yuwen Hua and Yueting Li and Xujin Zhang and Jianhua Xiao and Xiaohong Xu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.15728},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

21 pages, 9 figures