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arxiv: 2606.24527 · v1 · pith:LH4FAL6Anew · submitted 2026-06-23 · ❄️ cond-mat.mes-hall · cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Enabling Electrical Readout of N\'eel vector reversal in a van der Waals Antiferromagnet

Raghvendra Posti , Ravi Kumar Bandepalli , Wenhao Liu , Anshuman Sahoo , Pratyush Saud , Zixin Zhai , Aswin L. N. Kondusamy , Zhenhong Cui
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I-Hsuan Kao Aalok Tiwari Thomas Poirier James H. Edgar Kenji Watanabe Takashi Taniguchi Bing Lv Jyoti Katoch Simranjeet Singh
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Pith reviewed 2026-06-25 22:35 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ❄️ cond-mat.mes-hall cond-mat.mtrl-sci
keywords CrSBrNéel vectorvan der Waals antiferromagnettunneling magnetoresistanceelectrical readoutspintronicsantiferromagnetic memorycompensated magnetism
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The pith

Tunneling magnetoresistance detects 180-degree Néel vector reversal in even-layer CrSBr antiferromagnets.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper demonstrates a transport method to electrically read the orientation and 180-degree reversal of the Néel vector in atomically thin van der Waals antiferromagnets. CrSBr layers are coupled to a spin-polarized reference electrode across a tunnel barrier so that the measured magnetoresistance responds to the alignment between the reference magnetization and the interfacial sublattice moment of the antiferromagnet. This response remains observable even in even-layer stacks where opposing sublattices cancel exactly and the net magnetization is zero. A reader would care because it supplies the electrical readout step required to build antiferromagnet-based memory and logic elements that avoid stray fields and operate at high speed.

Core claim

By coupling atomically thin CrSBr to a spin-polarized layer across a tunnel barrier, the spin-dependent tunnelling magnetoresistance becomes sensitive to the relative orientation between the reference electrode magnetization and the interfacial sublattice magnetization of the antiferromagnet, thereby enabling electrical detection of Néel vector orientation and its 180-degree reversal even in even-layer films where adjacent sublattices are exactly compensated and net magnetization vanishes.

What carries the argument

Spin-dependent tunnelling magnetoresistance configuration that couples the antiferromagnet to a spin-polarized reference electrode across a tunnel barrier.

If this is right

  • The observed magnetoresistance directly signals 180-degree Néel vector reversal in compensated even-layer CrSBr.
  • The same configuration supplies electrical readout of Néel vector orientation in other van der Waals antiferromagnets.
  • The method supports construction of antiferromagnet-based magnetic memory devices that function without net magnetization.
  • Ultrafast and robust dynamics of the Néel vector become electrically accessible in thin-film van der Waals antiferromagnets.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The approach may allow antiferromagnetic layers to be integrated into existing two-dimensional heterostructures without introducing stray magnetic fields.
  • Because detection works in the compensated state, it could extend to antiferromagnets that remain insulating or semiconducting at room temperature.
  • Voltage-controlled switching of the reference layer could turn the readout on and off on demand in a single device stack.

Load-bearing premise

The tunnelling magnetoresistance is sensitive to the relative orientation between the reference electrode magnetization and the interfacial sublattice magnetization of the antiferromagnet.

What would settle it

Absence of magnetoresistance change when the Néel vector in even-layer CrSBr is reversed by 180 degrees while the reference electrode magnetization is held fixed.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2606.24527 by Aalok Tiwari, Anshuman Sahoo, Aswin L. N. Kondusamy, Bing Lv, I-Hsuan Kao, James H. Edgar, Jyoti Katoch, Kenji Watanabe, Pratyush Saud, Raghvendra Posti, Ravi Kumar Bandepalli, Simranjeet Singh, Takashi Taniguchi, Thomas Poirier, Wenhao Liu, Zhenhong Cui, Zixin Zhai.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Spin-dependent transport in CrSBr. (a) Schematic of the A-type AFM order in CrSBr (center). Each monolayer exhibits intralayer ferromagnetic coupling, while adjacent layers are coupled antiferromagnetically. In the AFM state, the two sublattices with magnetization vectors 𝑚𝐴 and 𝑚𝐵 (shown by red and blue arrows, respectively), are antiferromagnetically aligned, giving rise to a Néel vector, 𝑵̂ = 𝒎𝑨−𝒎𝑩 𝟐 (p… view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Spin-filtering in Co/h-BN/CrSBr heterostructure. (a) Sideview schematic and measurement geometry of the Co/hBN/CrSBr device. The Co magnetization is indicated by a green arrow, while the AFM ordering in CrSBr is represented by anti-parallel sublattice moments shown in red and blue. (b) Top: optical image of the CrSBr flake, with the active region outlined, used in the final device. Bottom: optical image of… view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: Tunnel-transport detection of Néel vector reversal in CrSBr. (a) Schematic showing two antiparallel (180°) Néel vector states stabilized by opposite high-field initialization conditions. (b,c) Field-dependent MR measured below the SF transition following initialization by +1.1 T (b) and −1.1 T (c), at T=11 K and Vbias=100 mV. The opposite hysteresis polarity reflects the reversal of the Néel vector through… view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Verification of Co-induced spin filtering and layer-resolved response in CrSBr. (a) MR response of an Au/hBN/CrSBr device A2 (sideview schematic shown in inset), between SF fields after initialization of the Néel state by -1.1 T, showing absence of hysteresis. (b, c) MR hysteresis measured between the SF fields in a Co/graphene/CrSBr device (Device B) after stabilization of the Néel state using magnetic fi… view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Owing to its robustness against external perturbations and intrinsically ultrafast dynamics, the N\'eel vector in antiferromagnets (AFMs) can enable the development of next-generation spintronic and magnonic devices for memory and computing applications. To realize AFM-based magnetic memory devices, one of the key requirements is to demonstrate electrical readout of 180-degree reversal of N\'eel vector in thin film AFMs, which remains critically missing. In this work, we report experimental demonstration of a novel transport methodology to detect N\'eel vector reversal in atomically thin films of a van der Waals (vdW) based A-type AFM. For this, we utilize spin-dependent electronic band properties of CrSBr by coupling it to a spin-polarized layer, separated by a tunnel barrier. In this configuration, the spin-dependent tunnelling magnetoresistance (MR) becomes sensitive to the relative orientation between the magnetization of the reference electrode and the interfacial sublattice magnetization of the AFM layer, in turn enabling electrical detection of the N\'eel vector orientation. Importantly, the observed MR can also reveal 180-degree reversal of N\'eel vector in even-layers of CrSBr, wherein adjacent sublattice magnetic layers are exactly compensated and the net magnetization vanishes and thus establishes a broadly applicable strategy for electrical detection of N\'eel vector in vdW-based AFMs.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

0 major / 3 minor

Summary. The manuscript reports an experimental demonstration of electrical readout of 180-degree Néel vector reversal in atomically thin CrSBr (A-type vdW antiferromagnet) via spin-dependent tunneling magnetoresistance (MR). A heterostructure couples the CrSBr layer to a spin-polarized reference electrode across a tunnel barrier; the MR signal becomes sensitive to the relative orientation between the reference magnetization and the interfacial AFM sublattice magnetization. The central result is that this readout works even for even-layer flakes, where adjacent sublattices are exactly compensated and net magnetization vanishes.

Significance. If the layer-parity controls, device fabrication details, and MR data hold, the work supplies a missing capability for AFM spintronics by enabling electrical detection of Néel vector orientation in compensated vdW antiferromagnets. It leverages intrinsic spin-dependent band properties of CrSBr and provides a broadly applicable strategy without requiring net magnetization.

minor comments (3)
  1. Figure captions and main text should explicitly label even- versus odd-layer devices and state the number of independent devices measured for each parity to strengthen the compensated-layer claim.
  2. Include a device schematic (stack cross-section and measurement geometry) early in the manuscript to clarify the reference electrode, tunnel barrier, and current path.
  3. Minor typographical inconsistencies appear in the abstract and introduction regarding the exact phrasing of 'spin-dependent tunnelling magnetoresistance'; standardize terminology throughout.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

0 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their positive assessment of our work and the recommendation for minor revision. No major comments appear in the provided report, so we interpret this as an endorsement of the central claims with only minor issues (if any) to address in revision.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity in experimental demonstration

full rationale

The paper is an experimental report of transport measurements in CrSBr-based tunnel junctions. No derivation chain, equations, or fitted parameters are presented as predictions; the central claim rests on direct observation of MR signals that distinguish Néel vector orientation (including in even-layer compensated flakes) via device fabrication, layer-parity controls, and reference electrode polarization. No self-citations are invoked as load-bearing uniqueness theorems or ansatzes. The work is self-contained against external benchmarks.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on standard assumptions of spin-dependent tunneling in magnetic heterostructures and the interpretation of MR changes as Néel vector orientation; no free parameters, new entities, or ad-hoc axioms are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Spin-dependent tunneling magnetoresistance is sensitive to the relative orientation between reference magnetization and AFM interfacial sublattice magnetization
    This premise is invoked to link the measured MR to Néel vector reversal.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.1-grok · 5861 in / 1250 out tokens · 31520 ms · 2026-06-25T22:35:33.993343+00:00 · methodology

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Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

2 extracted references

  1. [1]

    Spintronics of antiferromagnetic systems (Review Article)

    [1]. E. V . Gomonay and V . M. Loktev, "Spintronics of antiferromagnetic systems (Review Article)", Low Temperature Physics 40, 17 (2014). [2]. J. Han, R. Cheng, L. Liu, H. Ohno, and S. Fukami, "Coherent antiferromagnetic spintronics", Nature Materials 22, 684 (2023). [3]. T. Jungwirth, X. Marti, P. Wadley, and J. Wunderlich, "Antiferromagnetic spintronic...

    2014

  2. [2]

    For tunnel barrier layer, thin hBN flakes were exfoliated onto Si/SiO2 substrates with a 90 nm oxide thickness

    Mechanical exfoliation of CrSBr, hBN, and graphite flakes was performed inside an Ar -filled glovebox onto separate Si/SiO2 substrates with a 300 nm oxide layer. For tunnel barrier layer, thin hBN flakes were exfoliated onto Si/SiO2 substrates with a 90 nm oxide thickness. Suitable flakes were first identified by optical microscopy and subsequently charac...

    2020