Valence band electronic structure of the van der Waals ferromagnetic insulators: VI${}_3$ and CrI${}_3$

Abstract

Ferromagnetic van der Waals (vdW) insulators are of great scientific interest for their promising applications in spintronics. It has been indicated that in the two materials within this class, CrI${}_3$ and VI${}_3$, the magnetic ground state, the band gap, and the Fermi level could be manipulated by varying the layer thickness, strain or doping. To understand how these factors impact the properties, a detailed understanding of the electronic structure would be required. However, the experimental studies of the electronic structure of these materials are still very sparse. Here, we present the detailed electronic structure of CrI${}_3$ and VI${}_3$ measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). Our results show a band-gap of the order of 1 eV, sharply contrasting some theoretical predictions such as Dirac half-metallicity and metallic phases, indicating that the intra-atomic interaction parameter (U) and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) were not properly accounted for in the calculations. We also find significant differences in the electronic properties of these two materials, in spite of similarities in their crystal structure. In CrI${}_3$, the valence band maximum is dominated by the I 5{\it p}, whereas in VI${}_3$ it is dominated by the V 3{\it d} derived states. Our results represent valuable input for further improvements in the theoretical modeling of these systems.

arXiv comment8 pages, 4 figures

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• Electronic Structure of Chromium Trihalides beyond Density Functional Theory
• Two-dimensional ferromagnetic spin-orbital excitations in the honeycomb VI${}_3$
• Interplay of spin magnetism, orbital magnetism, and atomic structure in layered van der Waals ferromagnet VI${}_3$
• On-site and inter-site Hubbard corrections in magnetic monolayers: The case of FePS${}_3$ and CrI${}_3$
• The surface degradation and its impact on the magnetic properties of bulk VI_3
• Electronic structure of van der Waals ferromagnet CrI${}_3$ from self consistent vertex corrected GW approaches
• Symmetry breaking in vanadium trihalides
• Electronic and magnetic properties of the topological semimetal SmMg${}_2$Bi${}_2$
• Polarization dependent photoemission as a probe of the magnetic ground state in the layered ferromagnet VI3
• Optimizing Hubbard U parameters for Enhanced Description of Electronic and Magnetic Properties in CrI${}_3$ Monolayers and Bilayers
• Anisotropic hybridization probed by polarization dependent x-ray absorption spectroscopy in VI3 van der Waals Mott ferromagnet
• Electronic structure and magnetism of the Hund insulator CrI3
• Orbital mixing and strong Hund's coupling stabilize spin order in van der Waals ferromagnet CrI3