Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 47: Altermagnets V

MA 47.8: Talk

Thursday, March 12, 2026, 17:00–17:15, HSZ/0002

Altermagnetism in RuO₂? An experimental study on strain and stoichiometry in heterostructures — •Maik Gaerner¹, Niklas Schmolka¹, Alexander Weißbach², Joachim Wollschläger², Karsten Rott¹, Jan Schmalhorst¹, Martin Wortmann³, and Günter Reiss¹ — ¹Bielefeld University, Germany — ²Osnabrück University, Germany — ³Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany

RuO₂ is a widely studied altermagnetic candidate material, but its magnetic ground state remains actively debated. While some studies find little to no evidence of altermagnetic order in RuO₂ thin films [1,2], others report on clear signatures of altermagnetism [3]. Strain and stoichiometry are widely regarded as key parameters for electronic and magnetic properties of RuO₂ [4,5].
Here, we analyze the impact of strain as well as stoichiometry on the appearance of altermagnetic order in RuO₂. Therefore, we investigate RuO₂ heterostructures, probing e.g. spin-torques and tunnel magneto-resistance. Through an accompanying, systematic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study, we analyze the thermal instability of oxidation states in the near surface region to elucidate the role of process temperature in the production of heterostructures.

[1] Akashdeep et al., arXiV:2510.08064 (2025)

[2] Jechumtál et al., arXiV:2508.11481 (2025)

[3] Noh et al. Phys., Rev. Lett. 134, 246703 (2025)

[4] Brahimi et al., J. Phys. Condens. Matter 37 395801(2025)

[5] Smolyanyuk et al., Phys. Rev. B 109, 134424 (2024)

Keywords: Altermagnetism; RuO2; XPS; magnetic order