Strain Controlled Ferromagnetic-Antiferromagnetic Transformation in Mn-Doped Silicene for Information Transformation Devices.

A reliable control of magnetic states is central to the use of magnetic nanostructures. Here, by using state-of-the-art density-functional theory calculations, we find that Mn atoms decorated silicene has an anomalously fixed magnetic moment and a high Curie temperature. In addition, a tunable magnetic exchange coupling is achieved for Mn-silicene system with the application of biaxial strain, which induces a transformation from the ferromagnetic (FM) to the antiferromagnetic (AFM) state. As such, an atomic "bit" could be obtained by superimposing strain field once the FM and AFM states are referred to as "1" and "0". Such piezospin nanodevices, which convert mechanical energy into magnetic moment, would offer great potential for future information transmission, as they ultimately combine small size, high-speed operation, and low-power consumption.