Negative Differential Resistance and Ultra-High TMR in Altermagnetic Tunnel Junctions

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Sheoran, Sajjan, Keenan, Luke, Nell, Declan, Sanvito, Stefano
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866910213866520576
author Sheoran, Sajjan
Keenan, Luke
Nell, Declan
Sanvito, Stefano
author_facet Sheoran, Sajjan
Keenan, Luke
Nell, Declan
Sanvito, Stefano
contents Altermagnets can replace ferromagnets in tunnel junctions, yielding large tunneling magnetoresistance, ultrafast switching, and low-power functionality. While most studies explore the linear-response regime, interesting features emerge at finite bias, where the peculiar electronic structure of altermagnets gives rise to complex non-linear behaviour. Using non-equilibrium Green's functions implemented with density functional theory, we predict that a large low-bias negative differential resistance can be observed in an altermagnetic tunnel junction. Our proposed junction incorporates the orbital-ordered altermagnet KV2Se2O, whose quasi-2D Fermi surface plays a crucial role in realizing the negative differential resistance. Upon the application of a finite bias voltage, the current in the parallel configuration first increases sharply and then decreases, to be almost completely suppressed at around 0.14 V. At the same time, the antiparallel configuration displays a monotonic current-voltage curve. This behaviour, in addition to the negative differential resistance, supports a large tunneling magnetoresistance with sign inversion at 0.13 V. Our results suggest that altermagnetic tunnel junctions can be used as components in applications requiring strong non-linear response at low bias.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_12711
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Negative Differential Resistance and Ultra-High TMR in Altermagnetic Tunnel Junctions
Sheoran, Sajjan
Keenan, Luke
Nell, Declan
Sanvito, Stefano
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Altermagnets can replace ferromagnets in tunnel junctions, yielding large tunneling magnetoresistance, ultrafast switching, and low-power functionality. While most studies explore the linear-response regime, interesting features emerge at finite bias, where the peculiar electronic structure of altermagnets gives rise to complex non-linear behaviour. Using non-equilibrium Green's functions implemented with density functional theory, we predict that a large low-bias negative differential resistance can be observed in an altermagnetic tunnel junction. Our proposed junction incorporates the orbital-ordered altermagnet KV2Se2O, whose quasi-2D Fermi surface plays a crucial role in realizing the negative differential resistance. Upon the application of a finite bias voltage, the current in the parallel configuration first increases sharply and then decreases, to be almost completely suppressed at around 0.14 V. At the same time, the antiparallel configuration displays a monotonic current-voltage curve. This behaviour, in addition to the negative differential resistance, supports a large tunneling magnetoresistance with sign inversion at 0.13 V. Our results suggest that altermagnetic tunnel junctions can be used as components in applications requiring strong non-linear response at low bias.
title Negative Differential Resistance and Ultra-High TMR in Altermagnetic Tunnel Junctions
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.12711