Symmetry-driven altermagnetism in the manganese sulfides family

Altermagnetism has recently emerged as a distinct magnetic order combining compensated magnetic moments with symmetry-driven spin splitting in momentum space, offering new opportunities for spintronic functionalities without net magnetization. Here, we investigate the manganese sulfides family as an experimentally accessible altermagnetic materials platform through a combined theoretical and experimental study. First-principles density functional theory calculations reveal that while MnS exhibits a conventional antiferromagnetic electronic structure without spin splitting, both MnS2 and Mn2S3 host pronounced altermagnetic spin splitting arising from their symmetry-inequivalent magnetic sublattices. Experimentally, manganese sulfide thin films are synthesized by sputtering, where high resolution transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy unambiguously confirm the existence of MnS2 at moderate deposition temperatures. Magnetic and electrical measurements further corroborate the theoretical predictions. Our results establish manganese sulfides as a chemically simple, thin-film-compatible materials family and provide practical growth constraints for investigating their altermagnetism, thereby advancing its experimental exploration and materials engineering.