Substantially Enhanced Spin Polarization in Epitaxial CrTe<sub>2</sub> Quantum Films

2D van der Waals (vdW) magnets, which extend to the monolayer (ML) limit, are rapidly gaining prominence in logic applications for low-power electronics. To improve the performance of spintronic devices, such as vdW magnetic tunnel junctions, a large effective spin polarization of valence electrons is highly desired. Despite its considerable significance, direct probe of spin polarization in these 2D magnets has not been extensively explored. Here, using 2D vdW ferromagnet of CrTe<sub>2</sub> as a prototype, the spin degrees of freedom in the thin films are directly probed using Mott polarimetry. The electronic band of 50 ML CrTe<sub>2</sub> thin film, spanning the Brillouin zone, exhibits pronounced spin-splitting with polarization peaking at 7.9% along the out-of-plane direction. Surprisingly, atomic-layer-dependent spin-resolved measurements show a significantly enhanced spin polarization in a 3 ML CrTe<sub>2</sub> film, achieving 23.4% polarization even in the absence of an external magnetic field. The demonstrated correlation between spin polarization and film thickness highlights the pivotal influence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, interlayer interactions, and itinerant behavior on these properties, as corroborated by theoretical analysis. This groundbreaking experimental verification of intrinsic effective spin polarization in CrTe<sub>2</sub> ultrathin films marks a significant advance in establishing 2D ferromagnetic atomic layers as a promising platform for innovative vdW-based spintronic devices.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2024-11-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202411137
Citations
7
Primary Topic
2D Materials and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.82

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Substantially Enhanced Spin Polarization in Epitaxial CrTe2 Quantum Films

Yongbing Xu, Wei Niu, David J. Singh, Lixin He et al.
7 citations
Advanced Materials
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Substantially Enhanced Spin Polarization in Epitaxial CrTe2 Quantum Films

Yongbing Xu, Wei Niu, David J. Singh, Lixin He, Tay‐Rong Chang, Guang Bian, Jiahua Lu, Huayao Li, Lin Miao, Liang He, Qiangsheng Lu, Pengfei Yan, Yakui Weng, Xiangrui Liu, T. Shao, Chang Liu, Xiaoqian Zhang, Lulu Han, Wenting Lin, Zhuangzhi Shen, Quan Ren
article en
7 citations

Abstract

2D van der Waals (vdW) magnets, which extend to the monolayer (ML) limit, are rapidly gaining prominence in logic applications for low-power electronics. To improve the performance of spintronic devices, such as vdW magnetic tunnel junctions, a large effective spin polarization of valence electrons is highly desired. Despite its considerable significance, direct probe of spin polarization in these 2D magnets has not been extensively explored. Here, using 2D vdW ferromagnet of CrTe<sub>2</sub> as a prototype, the spin degrees of freedom in the thin films are directly probed using Mott polarimetry. The electronic band of 50 ML CrTe<sub>2</sub> thin film, spanning the Brillouin zone, exhibits pronounced spin-splitting with polarization peaking at 7.9% along the out-of-plane direction. Surprisingly, atomic-layer-dependent spin-resolved measurements show a significantly enhanced spin polarization in a 3 ML CrTe<sub>2</sub> film, achieving 23.4% polarization even in the absence of an external magnetic field. The demonstrated correlation between spin polarization and film thickness highlights the pivotal influence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, interlayer interactions, and itinerant behavior on these properties, as corroborated by theoretical analysis. This groundbreaking experimental verification of intrinsic effective spin polarization in CrTe<sub>2</sub> ultrathin films marks a significant advance in establishing 2D ferromagnetic atomic layers as a promising platform for innovative vdW-based spintronic devices.

Advanced MaterialsVol. 37(1)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US), Southern University of Science and Technology (CN), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN), National Center for Theoretical Sciences (TW), National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Physics Division, Southeast University (CN), University of Missouri (US), Nanjing University (CN), National Cheng Kung University (TW)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
2D Materials and Applications
0.82
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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