Figure：Configuration innovation and the field-free full switching of chiral antiferromagnetic order by homo-junction design. p and K represent the current-induced spin polarization and chiral antiferromagnetic order, respectively. Poly-Mn₃Sn is the abbreviation of the polycrystalline Mn₃Sn. J_charge and J_spin represent the charge current and spin current, respectively. J denotes the current density. ΔR_AH/R_AH represents the switching ratio.

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52225106 and 52561160112), the research team led by Professor Cheng Song, from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, has realized an advancement in the spintronic materials and devices, achieving the efficient full switching of chiral antiferromagnetic order in the absence of an assistant magnetic field. This research, titled “Field-free full switching of chiral antiferromagnetic order”, was published in Nature on 26 February, 2026 (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10175-6).

For a long time, the development of magnetic memory technology has faced a dilemma. Ferromagnets enable convenient electrical read and write, but suffer from the stray-field-limited density and a gigahertz speed ceiling. Antiferromagnets, though free of stray fields and endowed with terahertz magnetic dynamics, pose challenges for the electrical access. With their non-collinear spin arrangement, chiral antiferromagnetic materials, have terahertz magnetic dynamics, zero stray field and non-relativistic spin-splitting. They are expected to be an ideal material platform for the next-generation magnetic memories. Achieving efficient electrical manipulation of the chiral antiferromagnetic order under zero magnetic field, however, remains the core challenge in advancing them toward practical applications.

To address this challenge, this study integrates the two core dimensions of the non-collinear spin fingerprints of chiral antiferromagnets through a homojunction design. The unconventional spin current is exploited for inducing the unconventional magnetic dynamics of chiral antiferromagnetic order. A deterministic and full switching is realized at zero magnetic field, not only enabling a flexible control over the zero-field switching chirality but also yielding a substantial efficiency enhancement. Furthermore, approaching from the unique perspective of octupole order, this study deciphers the “efficiency code” of the chiral antiferromagnetic switching, through a systematic theoretical analysis of driving forces and energy barriers. The tilted geometry between the current-induced spin polarization and the Kagomé easy-plane overcomes the long-standing constraint in chiral antiferromagnetic spintronics that ultralow energy barriers and ultrahigh driving forces are mutually exclusive. It constitutes the key to realizing highly-efficient all-electrical switching, holding broad implications for other unconventional magnets with easy-plane anisotropy. This work establishes a bridge connecting the fundamental research and practical applications of chiral antiferromagnets. This research not only lays a technical foundation for next‑generation magnetic memory with ultra-high density, ultrafast writing speed, and ultra-low power consumption, but also underpins the development of terahertz nano-oscillators and rectifiers based on the chiral-spin rotation and spin‑torque diode effects, with great potential for the high‑frequency communication.