Search NASA⌕ Search
Home/Archive/DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI · 3387195

Excitons in van der Waals magnetic materials

Adak, Pratap Chandra [City University of New York (CUNY), NY (United States)] (ORCID:000000034719161X)·Dirnberger, Florian [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany); Technical University of Munich (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000229322850)·Acharya, Swagata [National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000180740030)·Kamra, Akashdeep [Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000307431076)·Xu, Xiaodong [University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000303482095)·Menon, Vinod M. [City University of New York (CUNY), NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000297256445)
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors provide a unique platform where long-range magnetic order coexists with strongly bound excitons. Because excitonic states and magnetic moments originate from the same electronic orbitals and couple via intrinsic exchange interactions, optical excitations in these systems exhibit pronounced sensitivity to magnetic order. Recent experiments show unusually strong magneto-optical responses and direct exciton–magnon coupling, establishing new routes for controlling light–matter interactions with spin degrees of freedom. Here, this Review surveys key developments, focusing on representative material systems, experimental signatures, and theoretical frameworks used to describe these phenomena. We conclude with perspectives on how this rapidly evolving field could enable next-generation optoelectronic and quantum technologies leveraging the coupled dynamics of light, charge and spin.

Explore related subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCEexcitonsmagnetsvan der Waals magnetic surfaces

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Adak, Pratap Chandra [City University of New York (CUNY), NY (United States)] (ORCID:000000034719161X), Dirnberger, Florian [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany); Technical University of Munich (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000229322850), Acharya, Swagata [National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000180740030), Kamra, Akashdeep [Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000307431076), Xu, Xiaodong [University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000303482095), Menon, Vinod M. [City University of New York (CUNY), NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000297256445). 2026-07-03. Excitons in van der Waals magnetic materials. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02636-0

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

Discover connections

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE subjectexcitons subjectmagnets subject

Connections use source metadata and explicit phrase matches, not verified experimental comparisons.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related discoveries

DOE OSTI2026

Manipulation of Localized Excitons in CrPS4 by Temperature and Magnetic Field

Layered van der Waals magnetic semiconductors provide a versatile platform for exploring excitonic phenomena intertwined with spin and lattice degrees of freedom, enabling excitons to act as sensitive probes of magnetic order. CrPS4 is a layered antiferromagnetic semiconductor that hosts rich excitonic features whose microscopic origin and connection to magnetic ordering remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigate the electronic and excitonic properties of bulk CrPS4 using a combination of many-body perturbation theory, dynamical mean-field theory, and photoluminescence-based experiments. Our calculations establish CrPS4 as a direct-gap semiconductor with a bandgap of 2.48 eV in the antiferromagnetic phase. Several subbandgap excitonic transitions are predicted by theory, comprising multiple spin-allowed excitons and an additional spin-flip excitation, predominantly localized on the Cr3+ ions. Temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent optical measurements reveal thermally driven exciton redistribution among localized states and identify characteristic energy shifts that provide clear optical signatures of magnetic phase transitions in CrPS4. These results provide insights into the excitonic transitions of antiferromagnets and suggest potential routes for all-optical sensing and light-driven control of their magnetic order.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2025

Twist Engineering of Anisotropic Excitonic and Optical Properties of a Two-Dimensional Magnetic Semiconductor

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnetic semiconductors are a new class of quantum materials for studying the emergent physics of excitons and spins in the 2D limit. Twist engineering provides a powerful tool to manipulate the fundamental properties of 2D vdW materials. Here, in this work, we show that twist engineering of the anisotropic ferromagnetic monolayer semiconductor CrSBr leads to bilayer magnetic semiconductors with continuously tunable magnetic moment, dielectric anisotropy, exciton energy, and linear dichroism. We furthermore provide a model for exciton energy in the media with tunable anisotropy. These results advance fundamental studies of 2D vdW materials and open doors to applications to nano-optics, twistronics, and spintronics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Exciton Transport in Perovskite Materials

Halide perovskites have emerged as promising materials for a wide variety of optoelectronic applications, including solar cells, light‐emitting devices, photodetectors, and quantum information applications. In addition to their desirable optical and electronic properties, halide perovskites provide tremendous synthetic flexibility through variation of not only their chemical composition but also their structure and morphology. At the heart of their use in optoelectronic technologies is the interaction of light with electronic excitations in the form of excitons. This review discusses the properties and behavior of excitons in halide perovskite materials, with a particular emphasis on low‐dimensional perovskites and the effects of nanoscale morphology on excitonic behavior. The basic theory of excitonic energy migration in semiconductor nanomaterials is introduced, and novel observations in halide perovskite nanomaterials that have evolved our current understanding are explored. Lastly, many important questions that remain unanswered are presented and exciting emerging directions in low‐dimensional perovskite exciton physics are discussed.

2D materials↗