Work

Thermal imaging of 180o domain contrast in altermagnetic RuO2

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Altermagnets host Néel-vector-dependent spin-splitting band structures, offering fertile ground for unconventional condensed-matter phenomena and spintronic applications. Experimental access to their properties, however, is challenging due to the obstacle for imaging 0o and 180o domains with opposite Néel vectors. Here, by exploiting the lock-in thermography to map the domain-dependent thermal contrast originating from the spin-dependent Peltier effect, we achieve real-space imaging of altermagnetic domain signatures of RuO2 in the scale of micrometer. Moreover, we find that magnetic field cooling can enable deterministic control of domain alignment and hence achieve the long-desired uniform 0o or 180o domain determined by the magnetic field direction. These switchable uniform domains restore the characteristic macroscopic magneto-responses of altermagnets, such as spin currents arising from the altermagnetic spin-dependent Seebeck effect. Our findings establish a robust thermal fingerprint of altermagnetism and extend the frontier of spin caloritronics into this emerging class of magnetic materials.

Source: National Science Review

DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag203

Authors: Jiankun Dai, Xizhi Fu, Yanzhang Cao, Jiacheng Zhang, Bo Song, Lei Han, Ruiyue Chu, Junwei Liu, Yuyan Wang, Feng Pan, Hua Bai, Dazhi Hou, Cheng Song

Institutions: Tsinghua University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Magnetic properties of thin films

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,000

OpenAlex ID: W7147447437

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