Interlayer magnetoelectric coupling in van der Waals structures

We propose a method to intrinsically realize the nonvolatile electrical control of noncollinear antiferromagnetism, and translate our idea to concrete van der Waals VI₂ bilayers from the first-principles calculations. In VI₂ bilayer systems, we unravel that the sliding ferroelectricity couples strongly to the spin spiral chirality of each VI₂ monolayer, which we refer to as the spin spiral chirality--sliding ferroelectricity locking effect. In this view, a flexibly electrical switch of the noncollinear antiferromagnetism can be realized via interlayer sliding. Our work therefore opens a different direction for the study of type-II multiferroic materials in two dimensions.