Visualizing thickness-dependent magnetic textures in few-layer ${\text{Cr}}_2{\text{Ge}}_2{\text{Te}}_6$

Abstract

Magnetic ordering in two-dimensional (2D) materials has recently emerged as a promising platform for data storage, computing, and sensing. To advance these developments, it is vital to gain a detailed understanding of how the magnetic order evolves on the nanometer-scale as a function of the number of atomic layers and applied magnetic field. Here, we image few-layer ${\text{Cr}}_2{\text{Ge}}_2{\text{Te}}_6$ using a combined scanning superconducting quantum interference device and atomic force microscopy probe. Maps of the material's stray magnetic field as a function of applied magnetic field reveal its magnetization per layer as well as the thickness-dependent magnetic texture. Using a micromagnetic model, we correlate measured stray-field patterns with the underlying magnetization configurations, including labyrinth domains and skyrmionic bubbles. Comparison between real-space images and simulations demonstrates that the layer dependence of the material's magnetic texture is a result of the thickness-dependent balance between crystalline and shape anisotropy. These findings represent an important step towards 2D spintronic devices with engineered spin configurations and controlled dependence on external magnetic fields.

15 pages, 4 figures, and supplementary information

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Anomalous size dependence of the coercivity of nanopatterned CrGeTe3
• Advanced SQUID-on-lever scanning probe for high-sensitivity magnetic microscopy with sub-100-nm spatial resolution
• Strain-Mediated Lattice Reconstruction Enhances Ferromagnetism in Cr2Ge2Te6/WTe2 van der Waals Heterobilayers