Chemical tuning of magnetic anisotropy and correlations in Ni1−xFexPS3

Abstract

We report the temperature and composition dependence of static magnetic susceptibility and Raman spectroscopic measurements on van der Waals antiferromagnets ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{x}{\mathrm{PS}}_{3}$. The end members ${\mathrm{NiPS}}_{3}$ and ${\mathrm{FePS}}_{3}$ feature $XY$- and Ising-like magnetism, respectively, enabling chemical tuning of magnetic anisotropy and spin correlations. ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{x}{\mathrm{PS}}_{3}$ shows a turnover from the $XY$ to Ising anisotropy through $x\ensuremath{\approx}0.1$. Although the $XY$ anisotropy is rapidly suppressed on introducing Fe content, two-magnon scattering evidences the slow repression of short-range magnetic correlations deep inside the Fe-rich side. Counterintuitively, the two-magnon signal undergoes less renormalization of its energy with increasing $x$ despite the larger spin number and enhanced classical magnetism. The disparate static and dynamic magnetic behaviors indicate the emergence of an exotic spin state in alloy van der Waals magnets.