Synthetic altermagnets

Abstract

Altermagnets, a distinct class of antiferromagnets with electronic structures resembling those of d-wave superconductors, exhibit intriguing properties that have gained significant attention in recent research. In this paper, we propose synthetic altermagnets, composed of two anisotropic ferromagnetic layers arranged such that the total net magnetization is zero. We investigate the properties of these synthetic altermagnets, focusing on their electronic band structures, spin current, Berry curvature, and anomalous Hall conductivity. By developing a minimal model for our synthetic altermagnets, we examine the influence of factors such as anisotropic coupling strengths and spin-orbit coupling on the physical phenomena altermagnets manifest. Our findings open a another path for the realization of altermagnetic materials experimentally and highlight their potential applications in magnetoelectronics, magneto-optics, and spintronics devices.