Strain-induced phase transition in CrI3 bilayers

A monolayer of CrI$_3$ is a two-dimensional crystal that in its equilibrium\nconfiguration is a ferromagnetic semiconductor, however, two coupled layers can\nbe ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic depending on the stacking. We study the\nmagnetic phase diagram upon the strain of the antiferromagnetically coupled\nbilayer with C2/m symmetry. We found that strain may be an efficient tool to\ntune the magnetic phase of the structure. A tensile strain stabilizes the\nantiferromagnetic phase, while a compressive strain turns the system\nferromagnetic. We understood that behavior by looking at the relative\ndisplacement between layers due to the strain. We also study the evolution of\nthe magnetic anisotropy, the magnetic exchange coupling between Cr atoms, and\nhow the Curie temperature is affected by the strain.\n