Ferroelastic Altermagnets and Beyond

ABSTRACT

Altermagnets combine the vanishing net magnetization of antiferromagnets with the nonrelativistic momentum‐space spin splitting of ferromagnets. Achieving efficient and nonvolatile control of their spin textures has become a central challenge in altermagnetic spintronics. While ferroelectric switching has dominated early studies of multiferroic altermagnets, mechanical control through ferroic lattice degrees of freedom provides a complementary route, as it does not rely on spontaneous electric polarization. In this Perspective, we review recent progress in the mechanical control of altermagnetism and organize the emerging mechanisms into three closely related routes: ferroelastic control , where switching between symmetry‐related lattice variants reorients or reconstructs the spin texture; coupled multiferroic control , represented by altriferroic materials combining altermagnetism, ferroelasticity, and ferroelectricity; and hidden staggered structural control , represented by antiferroelastic altermagnets whose staggered distortions reverse the spin splitting without reversing the Néel vector. These concepts are hierarchical and may overlap, with altriferroicity representing a multiferroic extension built on ferroelastic order. We further discuss the key challenges currently facing this field. Overall, these developments show that ferroic lattice control offers a promising route toward structurally reconfigurable altermagnetic spintronics.