Tuning the Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Fe5GeTe2 by Arsenic Substitution

Abstract

In order to tune the magnetic properties of the cleavable high-Curie temperature ferromagnet Fe${}_{5-x}$GeTe${}_2$, the effect of increasing the electron count through arsenic substitution has been investigated. Small additions of arsenic (2.5 and 5%) seemingly enhance ferromagnetic order in polycrystalline samples by quenching fluctuations on one of the three magnetic sublattices, whereas larger As concentrations decrease the ferromagnetic Curie temperature ($T_{\mathrm{C}}$) and saturation magnetization. This work also describes the growth and characterization of Fe${}_{4.8}$AsTe${}_2$ single crystals that are structurally analogous to Fe${}_{5-x}$GeTe${}_2$ but with some phase stability complications. Magnetization measurements reveal dominant antiferromagnetic behavior in Fe${}_{4.8}$AsTe${}_2$ with a Néel temperature of $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ $\approx$42K. A field-induced spin-flop below $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ results in a switch from negative to positive magnetoresistance, with significant hysteresis causing butterfly-shaped resistance loops. In addition to reporting the properties of Fe${}_{4.8}$AsTe${}_2$, this work shows the importance of manipulating the individual magnetic sublattices in Fe${}_{5-x}$GeTe${}_2$ and motivates further efforts to control the magnetic properties in related materials by fine tuning of the Fermi energy or crystal chemistry.

Accepted for publication in 2D Materials, with accepted version online

References in corpus (3)

• Tuning Magnetic Order in the van der Waals Metal Fe5GeTe2 by Cobalt Substitution
• Strong magneto-optical and anomalous transport manifestations in two-dimensional van der Waals magnets Fe${}_n$GeTe${}_2$ ($n$ = 3, 4, 5)
• Itinerant ferromagnetism mediated by giant spin polarization of metallic ligand band in van der Waals magnet Fe5GeTe2

Cited by in corpus (3)

• (Fe${}_{1-x}$Ni${}_x$)${}_5$GeTe${}_2$: an antiferromagnetic triangular Ising lattice with itinerant magnetism
• Nearly-room-temperature ferromagnetism and tunable anomalous Hall effect in atomically thin Fe4CoGeTe2
• Anisotropic electron-phonon coupling and chiral phonons in van der Waals room temperature ferromagnet Fe${}_5$GeTe${}_2$