From Stoner to Local Moment Magnetism in Atomically Thin Cr2Te3

Abstract

The field of two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetism has been proliferating over the past few years, with ongoing interests in basic science and potential applications in spintronic technology. However, a high-resolution spectroscopic study of the 2D ferromagnet is still lacking due to the small size and air sensitivity of the exfoliated nanoflakes. Here, we report a thickness-dependent ferromagnetism in epitaxially grown Cr2Te3 thin films and investigate the evolution of the underlying electronic structure by synergistic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and first-principle calculations. A conspicuous ferromagnetic transition from Stoner to Heisenberg-type is directly observed in the atomically thin limit, indicating that dimensionality is a powerful tuning knob to manipulate the novel properties of 2D magnetism. Monolayer Cr2Te3 retains robust ferromagnetism, but with a suppressed Curie temperature, due to the drastic drop in the density of states near the Fermi level. Our results establish atomically thin Cr2Te3 as an excellent platform to explore the dual nature of localized and itinerant ferromagnetism in 2D magnets.

arXiv comment32 pages, 4 + 10 figures

References in corpus (15)

• Layer-dependent Ferromagnetism in a van der Waals Crystal down to the Monolayer Limit
• Discovery of intrinsic ferromagnetism in 2D van der Waals crystals
• Gate-tunable Room-temperature Ferromagnetism in Two-dimensional Fe${}_3$GeTe${}_2$
• Magnetic 2D materials and heterostructures
• Emergent ferromagnetism near three-quarters filling in twisted bilayer graphene
• Two-Dimensional Itinerant Ising Ferromagnetism in Atomically thin Fe3GeTe2
• Direct observation of the transition from indirect to direct bandgap in atomically thin epitaxial MoSe2
• Realization of Quantum Spin Hall State in Monolayer 1T'-WTe2
• Intrinsic 2D-XY ferromagnetism in a van der Waals monolayer
• Quasiparticle Mass Enhancement and Temperature Dependence of the Electronic Structure of Ferromagnetic SrRuO3 Thin Films
• Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and spin glass-like behavior in molecular beam epitaxy grown chromium telluride thin films
• Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride
• Direct observation of the energy gain underpinning ferromagnetic superexchange in the electronic structure of CrGeTe${}_3$
• Observation of spin-dependent dual ferromagnetism in perovskite ruthenates
• Magnetic anisotropy of the van der Waals ferromagnet Cr${}_2$Ge${}_2$Te${}_6$ studied by angular-dependent XMCD

Cited by in corpus (6)

• From ferromagnetic semiconductor to anti-ferromagnetic metal in epitaxial Cr${}_x$Te${}_y$ monolayers
• Enhanced Ferromagnetism in Monolayer Cr2Te3 via Topological Insulator Coupling
• Unusual ferromagnetic band evolution and high Curie temperature in monolayer 1T-CrTe2 on bilayer graphene
• Introducing new resonant soft x-ray scattering capability in SSRL
• Enhancement of Curie Temperature in Ferromagnetic Insulator-Topological Insulator Heterostructures
• Large ferromagnetic-like band splitting in ultrathin ${\mathrm{SmC}}_6$ films