Electrical switching in a magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide

A remarkably low critical current is found to reorient the magnetic order in a magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide, suggesting this class of materials could form a basis for antiferromagnetic spintronics. Advances in controlling the correlated behaviour of transition metal dichalcogenides have opened a new frontier of many-body physics in two dimensions. A field where these materials have yet to make a deep impact is antiferromagnetic spintronics-a relatively new research direction promising technologies with fast switching times, insensitivity to magnetic perturbations and reduced cross-talk(1-3). Here, we present measurements on the intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide Fe1/3NbS2 that exhibits antiferromagnetic ordering below 42 K (refs. (4,5)). We find that remarkably low current densities of the order of 10(4) A cm(-2) can reorient the magnetic order, which can be detected through changes in the sample resistance, demonstrating its use as an electronically accessible antiferromagnetic switch. Fe1/3NbS2 is part of a larger family of magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides, some of which may exhibit switching at room temperature, forming a platform from which to build tuneable antiferromagnetic spintronic devices(6,7).