Electric-field switchable interlayer magnetic order and anomalous valley Hall effect in Janus VSSe bilayers with different interfaces
Electric-field control of magnetic order and valley polarization holds great promise for spintronic and valleytronic applications. However, achieving such electrical modulation remains a fundamental challenge in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnets. Herein, via first-principles calculations, we verify that electrically tunable interlayer magnetic order and valley polarization can be realized in Janus VSSe bilayers with different interfaces. Although the magnitudes of dipole moments within each constituent Janus monolayer are identical, the vertical built-in electrostatic potential difference $Δϕ$ across the bilayer depends strongly on the orientations of these dipoles, which originates from the distinct interfacial configurations. As a consequence, the VSSe bilayers with different interfaces possess distinct interlayer magnetic couplings and show dramatically varied responses to external electric fields. For Se-S interface, reversible electric-field switching between antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) states can be achieved due to the competition between itinerant-electron-mediated FM exchange coupling and interlayer $Δϕ$-dependent AFM/FM super-superexchange interactions mediated by interfacial Se and S atoms. For Se-Se interface, both the valley polarization and spin splitting can be effectively reversed by the out-of-plane electric field, realizing an all-electric-field controlled anomalous valley Hall effect. Our results demonstrate that the interface of the magnetic Janus bilayer could act as an additional degree of freedom to tune the electronic, magnetic, and valley properties in 2D vdW materials. The Janus VSSe bilayers are identified as a promising platform for the design of low-power spintronic and valleytronic devices.