Hard magnetic properties in nanoflake van der Waals Fe3GeTe2

Cheng Tan,Dougal G Mcculloch,James Partridge,Changgu Lee,Sultan Albarakati,Matthew R Field,Lan Wang,Tuson Park,Jinhwan Lee,Soon-Gil Jung

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04018-w

Cheng Tan, Dougal G Mcculloch + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04018-w

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Journal: Nature Communications	Publication Date: Apr 19, 2018
Citations: 282	License type: open-access

Affiliation: RMIT University, Sungkyunkwan University

Abstract

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have demonstrated fascinating optical and electrical characteristics. However, reports on magnetic properties and spintronic applications of van der Waals materials are scarce by comparison. Here, we report anomalous Hall effect measurements on single crystalline metallic Fe3GeTe2 nanoflakes with different thicknesses. These nanoflakes exhibit a single hard magnetic phase with a near square-shaped magnetic loop, large coercivity (up to 550 mT at 2 K), a Curie temperature near 200 K and strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Using criticality analysis, the coupling length between van der Waals atomic layers in Fe3GeTe2 is estimated to be ~5 van der Waals layers. Furthermore, the hard magnetic behaviour of Fe3GeTe2 can be well described by a proposed model. The magnetic properties of Fe3GeTe2 highlight its potential for integration into van der Waals magnetic heterostructures, paving the way for spintronic research and applications based on these devices.

Highlights

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have demonstrated fascinating optical and electrical characteristics
Employing heterostructures based on these 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials has revealed further interesting properties and suggested applications7–9. vdW magnets were known more than 50 years ago[10,11,12], but interest has been renewed with the emergence of 2D materials
2D ferromagnetism has been discovered very recently in two insulating vdW materials, Cr2Ge2Te620 and CrI321 and novel devices based on vdW ferromagnetic heterostructures have been demonstrated[18, 22, 23]

Summary

Introduction

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have demonstrated fascinating optical and electrical characteristics. We report anomalous Hall effect measurements on single crystalline FGT nanoflakes and show that their magnetic properties are highly dependent on thickness.

Results

Conclusion