Two-dimensional materials that are intrinsically ferromagnetic are crucial for the development of compact spintronic devices. However, most non-layered 2D magnets with a strong ferromagnetic order are difficult to synthesize. Here we show that the flakes of trigonal and monoclinic Cr5Te8 can be grown via a chemical vapour deposition method. Using magneto-optical and magnetotransport measurements, we show that both phases exhibit robust ferromagnetism with strong perpendicular anisotropy at thicknesses of a few nanometres. A high Curie temperature of up to 200 K can be obtained by manipulating the phase structure and thickness. We also observe a colossal anomalous Hall effect in the more structurally distorted monoclinic Cr5Te8, with an anomalous Hall conductivity of 650 Ω−1 cm−1 and anomalous Hall angle of 5%. Few-nanometre-thick flakes of trigonal and monoclinic Cr5Te8 can be grown using chemical vapour deposition, with the monoclinic phase exhibiting an anomalous Hall conductivity of 650 Ω–1 cm–1 and anomalous Hall angle of 5%. 

https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/bitstream/10356/161710/2/Phase%20engineering%20of%20Cr5Te8%20with%20colossal%20anomalous%20Hall%20effect.pdf

Phase engineering of Cr5Te8 with colossal anomalous Hall effect

Synthesis, characterization, properties and applications of two-dimensional magnetic materials

The demand for high-performance spintronic devices has boosted intense research on the manipulation of magnetism in van der Waals (vdW) magnets. Despite great efforts, robust ferromagnetic transitions above room temperature still face significant hurdles. Strain engineering can reversibly regulate magnetic exchange, but the degree of regulation is still impractical for most magnetic applications. Hereby we employ a large-strain transferrer to produce tunable strains of up to 4.7%, which induces authentic room-temperature ferromagnetism in large-area Fe3GeTe2 nanoflakes with 20-fold improvement in magnetization. The record increment of the Curie temperature (TC) of well above 400 K originates from the strain-enhanced magnetic anisotropy and excellent magnetoelastic coupling. The correlation between the emerging ferromagnetism and Raman spectral evolution is also established, which complements well the TC phase diagram in a large-strain region. In addition, an unusual exchange bias effect with a vertical magnetization shift is tracked for the first time upon bending, which reveals the hidden competition between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic coupling. The reversible strain manipulation of single-domain ferromagnetic order in a single nanoflake further opens up a route to develop low-power wearable spintronic devices. The findings here provide vast opportunities to exploit the possibility of practical applications of more vdW magnets.

Polymer-buried van der Waals magnets for promising wearable room-temperature spintronics.

Discoveries of the interfacial topological Hall effect (THE) provide an ideal platform for exploring the physics arising from the interplay between topology and magnetism. The interfacial topological Hall effect is closely related to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) at an interface and topological spin textures. However, it is difficult to achieve a sizable THE in heterostructures due to the stringent constraints on the constituents of THE heterostructures, such as strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Here, we report the observation of a giant THE signal of 1.39 μΩ·cm in the van der Waals heterostructures of CrTe2/Bi2Te3 fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy, a prototype of two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnet (FM)/topological insulator (TI). This large magnitude of THE is attributed to an optimized combination of 2D ferromagnetism in CrTe2, strong SOC in Bi2Te3, and an atomically sharp interface. Our work reveals CrTe2/Bi2Te3 as a convenient platform for achieving large interfacial THE in hybrid systems, which could be utilized to develop quantum science and high-density information storage devices.

Giant Topological Hall Effect in van der Waals Heterostructures of CrTe2/Bi2Te3.

While the discovery of two-dimensional (2D) magnets opens the door for fundamental physics and next-generation spintronics, it is technically challenging to achieve the room-temperature ferromagnetic (FM) order in a way compatible with potential device applications. Here, we report the growth and properties of single- and few-layer CrTe2, a van der Waals (vdW) material, on bilayer graphene by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Intrinsic ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature (TC) up to 300 K, an atomic magnetic moment of ~0.21 
 $${\mu }_{{\rm{B}}}$$
 /Cr and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) constant (Ku) of 4.89 × 105 erg/cm3 at room temperature in these few-monolayer films have been unambiguously evidenced by superconducting quantum interference device and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. This intrinsic ferromagnetism has also been identified by the splitting of majority and minority band dispersions with ~0.2 eV at Г point using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The FM order is preserved with the film thickness down to a monolayer (TC ~ 200 K), benefiting from the strong PMA and weak interlayer coupling. The successful MBE growth of 2D FM CrTe2 films with room-temperature ferromagnetism opens a new avenue for developing large-scale 2D magnet-based spintronics devices. The emergence of two dimensional ferromagnetism suffers from an inherent fragility to thermal fluctuations, which typically restricts the Curie temperature to below room temperature. Here, Zhang et al present CrTe2 thin films grown via molecular beam epitaxy with a Curie temperature exceeding 300 K.

Jacob Cook

Papers

Room-temperature intrinsic ferromagnetism in epitaxial CrTe2 ultrathin films