Spin photogalvanic effect in two-dimensional collinear antiferromagnets

Abstract: Spin photogalvanic effect (SPGE) is an efficient method to generate a spin current by photoexcitation in a contactless and ultra-fast way. In two-dimensional (2D) collinear antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials that preserve the combined time-reversal (T) and inversion (I) symmetry (i.e., TI symmetry), we find that the photogalvanic currents in two magnetic sublattices carry different kinds of spins and propagate in opposite direction if the spin-orbit coupling is negligible, resulting in a pure spin current without net charge current. Based on the first-principles calculations, we show that two experimentally synthesized 2D collinear AFM materials, monolayer MnPS$_3$ and bilayer CrCl$_3$, host the required symmetry and support sizable SPGE. The predicted SPGE in 2D collinear AFM materials makes them promising platforms for nano spintronics devices.