Electrical control of Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida exchange interaction in zigzag edge MoS2 nanoflakes

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the spin–spin correlation of two magnetic impurities in zigzag edge MoS2 nanoflakes using a three-orbital tight-binding model. In particular, we consider the dependence of the Ruderman– Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) interaction on the local electric field strength for providing a degree of tunability in triangular and rectangular nanoflakes. Our results indicate that manipulating the local electric field at the zigzag edges could allow the control of all the different components of the RKKY interaction in MoS2 nanoflakes. Interestingly, the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya JDM oscillates but does not decay due to strong spin–orbit coupling. Moreover, the electric field induces a sizable JDM interaction as a function of the magnetic separation along zigzag edges for various Fermi energies. Our findings provide a method for enhancing the RKKY exchange interactions with magnetic arrays in these materials.