Hexagonal MnTe with Antiferromagnetic Spin Splitting and Hidden Rashba-Dresselhaus Interaction for Antiferromagnetic Spintronics

Hexagonal MnTe emerges as a critical component in designing magnetic quantum heterostructures, calling for a detailed study. After finding a suitable combination of exchange-correlation functional and corrections, this study within ab initio density functional theory uncovers an insulating state with a preferred antiferromagnetic (AFM) order. The exchange interaction strengths are computed to estimate the AFM ordering temperature via Monte Carlo calculations. These calculations and symmetry analysis reveal a large spin splitting in the system due to the AFM order without considering spin-orbit interaction, except in the kx-ky plane. Critically examining the band dispersion and spin textures obtained from these calculations and comparing them with an insightful symmetry analysis and analytical model, a combined Rashba-Dresselhaus interaction in the kx-ky plane, around the K point of the system, is confirmed. These results and insights would help design heterostructures of MnTe for technological applications. Hexagonal MnTe in a nonsymmorphic space group P63/mmc shows antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering. This work uses density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the ordering temperature. Further calculations demonstrate spin-split AFM bands owing to compromised parity-time reversal symmetry. Spin-orbit interaction leads to the Rashba-Dresselhaus effect, shown around the high-symmetry K-point, useful in spintronics. image