Engineering nonrelativistic spin splitting in semiconductors by altermagnetic proximity

Overview & Synopsis

Altermagnets combine vanishing net magnetization with momentum-dependent, nonrelativistic spin splitting, offering functionalities attractive for spintronics and quantum devices. Their practical use, however, is constrained by the limited availability of materials that simultaneously possess the required altermagnetic symmetry, semiconducting electronic structure, and weak spin-orbit coupling. Here we show that these requirements can instead be separated between constituent materials through proximity engineering. We develop an analytical theory for a conventional semiconductor coupled to a gapped $d$-wave altermagnet and demonstrate that virtual tunneling transfers the altermagnetic spin splitting to the semiconductor. Crucially, the induced nonrelativistic and relativistic spin splittings exhibit qualitatively different dependences on band alignment. Virtual processes involving the valence and conduction bands of the altermagnet can reinforce the altermagnetic splitting while contributing with opposite signs to the interfacial Rashba coupling. Consequently, electrostatic tuning can access a regime in which the Rashba splitting vanishes while a sizable $d$-wave spin splitting persists. Exact diagonalization of the full heterostructure model confirms the analytical theory and establishes the robustness of this mechanism beyond the perturbative regime. Our results identify altermagnetic proximity as a route for engineering nonrelativistic spin-split electronic states in established semiconductor platforms, providing a general strategy for disentangling magnetic and relativistic spin interactions in quantum heterostructures.