Antiferromagnetic Order in the Rare-Earth Halide Perovskites CsEuBr3 and CsEuCl3

Bulk CsEuBr3 and CsEuCl3 are experimentally shown to be magnetic semiconductors that order antiferromagnetically at Neel temperatures of 2.0 K and 1.0 K, respectively. Given that nanoparticles and thin films of CsEuCl3 have been reported to order ferromagnetically at a similar temperature, our observation of antiferromagnetic ordering in CsEuBr3 and CsEuCl3 expands the possible applications of halide perovskites to now include spintronic devices where both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic devices can be fabricated from a single material. The conclusion that CsEuCl3 can be used as a switchable magnetic material is also supported by our density-functional theory calculations.

Automated summary

Bulk CsEuBr3 and CsEuCl3 are magnetic semiconductors that order antiferromagnetically at Neel temperatures of 2.0 K and 1.0 K, respectively. Our observation of antiferromagnetic ordering in CsEuBr3 and CsEuCl3 expands the possible applications of halide perovskites to include spintronic devices, where both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic devices can be fabricated from a single material. Density-functional theory calculations support the use of CsEuCl3 as a switchable magnetic material.