Dynamic signatures of spin-lattice coupling in the layered ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6

Luis M. Martinez; Yu Liu; Cedomir Petrovic; Sumit Haldar; Theodore Griepe; Unai Atxitia; Marshall Campbell; Michael T. Pettes; Rohit P. Prasankumar; Elton J. G.  Santos; Srinivasa R. Singamaneni; Prashant Padmanabhan

doi:10.1038/s44306-025-00101-3

Dynamic signatures of spin-lattice coupling in the layered ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6

Luis M. Martinez, Yu Liu, Cedomir Petrovic, Sumit Haldar, Theodore Griepe, Unai Atxitia, Marshall Campbell, Michael T. Pettes, Rohit P. Prasankumar, Elton J. G. Santos^*, Srinivasa R. Singamaneni^*, Prashant Padmanabhan^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials exhibit a profound interconnectedness between their various degrees of freedom, pointing to a wealth of potential applications in low-power and high-speed spintronic devices. Recently, light-matter interactions have been leveraged as robust, dynamic pathways to gain control over the properties of vdW magnets through the use of ultrafast pulses of light. Here, we utilize ultrafast photoexcitation to drive coherent lattice oscillations in the layered
ferrimagnetic crystal Mn3Si2Te6, which significantly stiffen below the magnetic ordering temperature. We suggest that this is due to an exchange-mediated contraction of the lattice, stemming from strong magneto-structural coupling in this material. Furthermore, simulations of the transient incoherent response uncover the critical role of the spin-mediated electronic relaxation pathways. These results
underscore the importance of spin-lattice coupling in vdW magnets and demonstrate a promising strategy for their dynamic optical control via their entangled degrees of freedom.

Original language	English
Article number	35
Pages (from-to)	1-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	npj Spintronics
Volume	3
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44306-025-00101-3
Publication status	Published - 4 Sept 2025

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Two-Dimensional Magnetic Materials for the Next Generation of Functional Device Platforms (2DMagnete)
Santos, E. (Principal Investigator)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
1/12/20 → 30/11/26
Project: Research
EPCC Tier 2 HPC Service
Parsons, M. (Principal Investigator)
EPSRC
1/11/16 → 30/04/21
Project: Research

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title = "Dynamic signatures of spin-lattice coupling in the layered ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6",

abstract = "Magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials exhibit a profound interconnectedness between their various degrees of freedom, pointing to a wealth of potential applications in low-power and high-speed spintronic devices. Recently, light-matter interactions have been leveraged as robust, dynamic pathways to gain control over the properties of vdW magnets through the use of ultrafast pulses of light. Here, we utilize ultrafast photoexcitation to drive coherent lattice oscillations in the layered ferrimagnetic crystal Mn3Si2Te6, which significantly stiffen below the magnetic ordering temperature. We suggest that this is due to an exchange-mediated contraction of the lattice, stemming from strong magneto-structural coupling in this material. Furthermore, simulations of the transient incoherent response uncover the critical role of the spin-mediated electronic relaxation pathways. These results underscore the importance of spin-lattice coupling in vdW magnets and demonstrate a promising strategy for their dynamic optical control via their entangled degrees of freedom.",

author = "Martinez, \{Luis M.\} and Yu Liu and Cedomir Petrovic and Sumit Haldar and Theodore Griepe and Unai Atxitia and Marshall Campbell and Pettes, \{Michael T.\} and Prasankumar, \{Rohit P.\} and Santos, \{Elton J. G.\} and Singamaneni, \{Srinivasa R.\} and Prashant Padmanabhan",

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doi = "10.1038/s44306-025-00101-3",

language = "English",

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T1 - Dynamic signatures of spin-lattice coupling in the layered ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6

AU - Martinez, Luis M.

AU - Liu, Yu

AU - Petrovic, Cedomir

AU - Haldar, Sumit

AU - Griepe, Theodore

AU - Atxitia, Unai

AU - Campbell, Marshall

AU - Pettes, Michael T.

AU - Prasankumar, Rohit P.

AU - Santos, Elton J. G.

AU - Singamaneni, Srinivasa R.

AU - Padmanabhan, Prashant

PY - 2025/9/4

Y1 - 2025/9/4

N2 - Magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials exhibit a profound interconnectedness between their various degrees of freedom, pointing to a wealth of potential applications in low-power and high-speed spintronic devices. Recently, light-matter interactions have been leveraged as robust, dynamic pathways to gain control over the properties of vdW magnets through the use of ultrafast pulses of light. Here, we utilize ultrafast photoexcitation to drive coherent lattice oscillations in the layered ferrimagnetic crystal Mn3Si2Te6, which significantly stiffen below the magnetic ordering temperature. We suggest that this is due to an exchange-mediated contraction of the lattice, stemming from strong magneto-structural coupling in this material. Furthermore, simulations of the transient incoherent response uncover the critical role of the spin-mediated electronic relaxation pathways. These results underscore the importance of spin-lattice coupling in vdW magnets and demonstrate a promising strategy for their dynamic optical control via their entangled degrees of freedom.

AB - Magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials exhibit a profound interconnectedness between their various degrees of freedom, pointing to a wealth of potential applications in low-power and high-speed spintronic devices. Recently, light-matter interactions have been leveraged as robust, dynamic pathways to gain control over the properties of vdW magnets through the use of ultrafast pulses of light. Here, we utilize ultrafast photoexcitation to drive coherent lattice oscillations in the layered ferrimagnetic crystal Mn3Si2Te6, which significantly stiffen below the magnetic ordering temperature. We suggest that this is due to an exchange-mediated contraction of the lattice, stemming from strong magneto-structural coupling in this material. Furthermore, simulations of the transient incoherent response uncover the critical role of the spin-mediated electronic relaxation pathways. These results underscore the importance of spin-lattice coupling in vdW magnets and demonstrate a promising strategy for their dynamic optical control via their entangled degrees of freedom.

U2 - 10.1038/s44306-025-00101-3

DO - 10.1038/s44306-025-00101-3

M3 - Article

SN - 2948-2119

VL - 3

SP - 1

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JO - npj Spintronics

JF - npj Spintronics

IS - 1

M1 - 35

ER -

Dynamic signatures of spin-lattice coupling in the layered ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6

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Two-Dimensional Magnetic Materials for the Next Generation of Functional Device Platforms (2DMagnete)

EPCC Tier 2 HPC Service

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