Researchers from ETH Zürich, University of Washington, University of Basel and National Institute for Materials Science have demonstrated all-optical control over the spin-valley polarization in twisted molybdenum ditelluride (t‑MoTe₂) homobilayers - a step toward dynamically reconfigurable quantum materials and optically defined topological circuits. The work shows how circularly polarized light can reversibly switch the magnetic orientation of a strongly correlated ferromagnetic state, all without changing the sample temperature.

The experiments, led by Prof. Ataç Imamoğlu (ETH Zürich), Prof. Tomasz Smoleński (University of Basel), and colleagues, exploit a system where two atomically thin MoTe₂ layers are stacked with a small twist angle. This twist creates a moiré superlattice with flat, valley‑contrasting Chern bands, giving rise to highly correlated quantum phases - including Chern insulators and ferromagnetic metals - depending on the electron filling. Because the electronic bands are nearly dispersionless, electron-electron interactions dominate, resulting in spontaneous spin alignment even at cryogenic but steady temperatures.

Researchers from the University of Stuttgart, University of Washington, University of Edinburgh, University of Waterloo, the National Institute for Materials Science, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a new type of long‑range magnetic order in twisted double‑bilayer chromium triiodide (CrI₃). 

The study reports a “super‑moiré” magnetic state that extends far beyond the conventional moiré unit cell - highlighting twist angle as a powerful tool to engineer topological spin textures in 2D magnets.

Researchers from the University of Maryland, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Nankai University, Cornell University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of California, University of Tennessee, Air Force Research Laboratory and Rice University recently reported the first experimental realization of non-volatile, electrical control of magnetism in a two-dimensional (2D) material system. The collaborative work demonstrates a robust interferroic magnetoelectric coupling in a van der Waals heterostructure made of atomic layers of ferroelectric CuCrP₂S₆ and ferromagnetic Fe₃GeTe₂ - marking a milestone for 2D multiferroic research and energy-efficient spintronic applications.

At the heart of this work lies the long-standing challenge of stabilizing ferroic order in truly two-dimensional materials. While ferroelectric and ferromagnetic phenomena are both well-established in bulk materials, their coexistence in 2D is difficult to maintain due to depolarization fields and thermal fluctuations that destabilize long-range order. The team overcame these limitations by stacking exfoliated layers of the ferroelectric CuCrP₂S₆ and ferromagnetic Fe₃GeTe₂ with atomically clean interfaces, enabling short-range, interfacial coupling between their ferroic orders.

Researchers from Italy's Università degli Studi di Salerno, CNR-SPIN and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) recently found that the noncentrosymmetric superconductor niobium–rhenium (NbRe) could be the long-sought candidate for intrinsic spin-triplet pairing - a key ingredient for future superconducting spintronics and quantum computers.

Spin-triplet superconductors differ fundamentally from conventional “singlet” superconductors: their Cooper pairs carry spin as well as charge. This allows them to sustain spin-polarized supercurrents that can travel without resistance. Such a property would enable lossless spin transmission and stability in quantum information systems - a long-standing challenge in the field.

Researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), Donostia International Physics Center, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden and IMDEA Nanoscience have identified ferromagnetic hexagonal close-packed (hcp) cobalt as a prototypical magnetic nodal-line semimetal that remains robust at room temperature, turning a classic ferromagnet into a highly tunable topological platform for spintronics.

Cobalt has long been regarded as a textbook elemental ferromagnet with a supposedly well-understood band structure, examined in detail for over 40 years. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES) at the BESSY II synchrotron, the team now observes entangled, spin-polarized bands that cross along extended paths in momentum space without opening an energy gap, even at room temperature. These measurements reveal a dense network of magnetic nodal lines - topological band crossings between two spin-polarized states - that give rise to fast, robust charge carriers central to future information and spin-based technologies.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo recently demonstrated fully electrical, field‑free control of perpendicular magnetization using spin‑orbit torque (SOT) in a low‑symmetry 2D magnet/topological‑insulator heterostructure, paving the way for scalable, energy‑efficient spintronic memory and logic devices.

Stacking the three-fold symmetry of BiSbTe on top of the two-fold symmetry of intercalated-CrTe, the interface only permits a unidirectional symmetry which produces an extremely strong out-of-plane spin torque and can deterministically switch a very hard, perpendicular magnet with ease. Image credit: University of Waterloo  

Modern MRAM and related spintronic memories need dense, robust perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) bits that can be switched deterministically with low energy consumption, but conventional SOT easily switches only in‑plane moments and typically requires an external bias field to tilt perpendicular spins “up” or “down”. In perpendicular configurations, bits point out of the film plane, which boosts storage density but makes the energy‑efficient, fully electrical control of their state difficult. Standard heavy‑metal/ferromagnet stacks already break out‑of‑plane symmetry and can support in‑plane switching, yet deterministic out‑of‑plane reversal demands breaking additional in‑plane symmetries - usually via an applied magnetic field, which adds circuit complexity, power overhead, and risks cross‑talk between neighboring bits.

A research team, led by Associate Professor Hironori Yamaguchi at Osaka Metropolitan University, has found that the Kondo effect behaves differently depending on spin size. In systems with small spins, it suppresses magnetism, but when spins are larger, it actually promotes magnetic order. This discovery highlights a new quantum boundary with major implications for future materials.

The team created a new type of Kondo necklace using a carefully engineered organic inorganic hybrid material made from organic radicals and nickel ions. This precise design was achieved using RaX-D, a molecular design framework that allows fine control over crystal structure and magnetic interactions. The researchers had previously succeeded in building a spin-1/2 Kondo necklace. In their latest work, they extended the system by increasing the localized spin (decollated spin) from 1/2 to 1. Thermodynamic measurements revealed a clear phase transition, showing that the system entered a magnetically ordered state.

Researchers from Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Yancheng Polytechnic College and Soochow University have investigated spin transport in spintronic devices built from rhombus-shaped nanographenes (RNGs) contacted by zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) electrodes via carbon chains. These RNGs exhibit measurable magnetic exchange coupling and robust all‑carbon magnetism, making them promising candidates for room‑temperature spintronic applications.

In the parallel magnetic configuration of the two ZGNR electrodes, the devices show a pronounced spin‑filtering effect that allows only spin‑up electrons to pass through. The connection geometry between the RNGs and the carbon chains is found to strongly influence the quantum transport characteristics.

An international team of researchers, led by Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has directly observed how electron spins behave in real space, providing a new understanding of this complex interaction. 

The phenomenon where electron spins align in a specific direction after passing through chiral materials is crucial for future spin-based electronics, yet the underlying mechanism has been unclear. The team’s work shows that chiral materials actively change the spin orientation of electrons, overturning the long-held belief that these materials simply filter spins without affecting their direction.

Scientists at Ames National Laboratory, in collaboration with Indranil Das’s group at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (India), recently found a surprising electronic feature in transitional metal-based compounds that could pave the way for a new class of spintronic materials for computing and memory technologies.

The feature was found in Mn₂PdIn, a Heusler compound - a type of alloy valued for its tunable magnetic and electronic properties. These alloys can exhibit behaviors not seen in their individual elements, making them prime candidates for spintronic applications.