Interfacial Mirror Symmetry Breaking Induced Helicity-Dependent Photocurrents in hBN/CrPS4 Heterostructure

Research on quantum geometric-related effects in antiferromagnetic van der Waals heterostructures has predominantly focused on separating the contributions of Berry curvature and quantum metric through the manipulation of Parity-Time (PT) symmetry. However, the critical role of interfacial symmetry-breaking mechanisms, particularly those emerging from parity inversion symmetry manipulation, has remained underexplored. This study advances the field by investigating the hBN/CrPS₄ heterojunction, where the mirror symmetry at the interface is systematically controlled. A significant circular photogalvanic effect is induced through the breaking of mirror symmetry, as evidenced by helicity-dependent photocurrent measurements. Symmetry analysis reveals that the observed difference in left- and right-handed circular photocurrents originates from a Berry curvature dipole, which is directly linked to the broken mirror symmetry. Our research highlights the critical role of interface symmetry breaking in inducing quantum geometric-related effects at magnetic material interfaces and pioneers a new strategy for manipulating interface PT symmetry.