Toward Room-Temperature Electrical Control of Magnetic Order in Multiferroic van der Waals Materials

Electrical control of magnetic order in van der Waals (vdW) two-dimensional (2D) systems is appealing for high-efficiency and low-dissipation nanospintronic devices. For realistic applications, a vdW 2D material with ferromagnetic (FM) and ferroelectric (FE) orders coexisting and strongly coupling at room temperature is urgently needed. Here we present a potential candidate for nonvolatile electric-field control of magnetic orders at room temperature. Using first-principles calculations, we predict the coexistence of room-temperature FM and FE orders in a 2D transition metal carbide, where the spatial distribution of magnetic moments strongly couples with the orientation of out-of-plane electric polarization. Furthermore, an electric-field switching between interfacial FM and ferrimagnetic orders is realizable through constructing a multiferroic vdW heterostructure based on this material. These findings make a significant step toward realizing room-temperature multiferroicity and strong magnetoelectric coupling in 2D materials.