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arXiv · 2608.07666

Defect-Controlled Multiferroicity via Stacking Control in Nonmagnetic van der Waals Bilayers

Bumseop Kim·Sayed Ali Akbar Ghorashi·Andrew M. Rappe
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Abstract

We present a general paradigm that directly couples vacancy-localized magnetism to interfacial sliding ferroelectricity in nonmagnetic van der Waals (vdWs) bilayers. Utilizing bilayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) as a prototypical vdWs host system, we use first-principles calculations to show that a single vacancy acts as a local registry sensor, lifting the degeneracy between polar sliding partners via a defect-centered polarization offset. For interlayer vacancy pairs, we discover a defect selectivity where the hosting sublattice fully dictates the interlayer exchange, stabilizing either ferrimagnetic or antiferromagnetic configurations. Applying an out-of-plane electric field selects the polar registry and drives an amplitude modulation of the compensated Néel order parameter. These findings establish a robust, sublattice-dependent engineering of multiferroic functionality via stacking control across a wide class of nonmagnetic 2D heterostructures.

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Bumseop Kim, Sayed Ali Akbar Ghorashi, Andrew M. Rappe. 2026-08-07. Defect-Controlled Multiferroicity via Stacking Control in Nonmagnetic van der Waals Bilayers. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.07666

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