Aleksandra Lopion
The emergence of intelligent matter has sparked significant interest in next-generation technologies. We report on the discovery of a reconfigurable magnetic multilayer domain structure in the van der Waals magnet CrSBr, exhibiting a unique combination of magnetic and optical properties. Applying an external magnetic field along the easy axis drives the hysteretic antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition that is not universally binary, but instead develops through a cascade of intermediate magnetic configurations whose multiplicity and stability scale systematically with thickness. This material can be considered as a prototypical intelligent matter, capable of encoding, processing, and storing information through its tunable magnetic structure. The directly linked optical properties of CrSBr, modulated by the magnetic structure, provide a readout mechanism for the stored information compatible with modern information distribution using light. With its adaptive properties, CrSBr is an attractive candidate for neuromorphic circuitries, enabling the design of brain-inspired computing architectures that can learn and evolve in response to changing environments.