Altermagnets constitute an emerging class of collinear magnets that exhibit zero net magnetization yet host spin-split electronic bands arising from non-relativistic spin-space-group symmetries. Realization of altermagnetism in the two-dimensional (2D) limit remains an outstanding challenge because dimensional reduction suppresses kZ dispersion and destabilizes the symmetry operations essential for spin compensation. Here, we demonstrate genuine 2D altermagnetism in epitaxial unit-cell-thin films of CrSb grown on Bi2Te3. It reveals a thickness-driven transition from a ferrimagnetic state in 1-unit-cell films to an altermagnetic state above a critical thickness of 7/4 unit cell. The transition originates from interfacial symmetry breaking at the Cr-terminated layer that induces local moment imbalance. With increasing thickness the key spin-space-group symmetries [C2||C6Zt] and [C2||MZ] restores, which leads to altermagnetism with zero net magnetization and momentum-dependent spin splitting. Our results provide the first experimental realization of altermagnetism in the 2D regime and establish a route for integrating stray-field-free spin order into nanoscale spintronic architectures.
@article{arxiv.2510.12344,
title = {Two-Dimensional Altermagnetism in Epitaxial CrSb Ultrathin Films},
author = {Keren Li and Yuzhong Hu and Yue Li and Ruohang Xu and Heping Li and Kun Liu and Chen Liu and Jincheng Zhuang and Yee Sin Ang and Jiaou Wang and Haifeng Feng and Weichang Hao and Yi Du},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.12344},
year = {2025}
}