Physics Commons^™

Self-Intercalation Tunable Interlayer Exchange Coupling In A Synthetic Van Der Waals Antiferromagnet, Xiaoqian Zhang, Wenqing Liu, Wei Niu, Qiangsheng Lu, Wei Wang, Ali Sarikhani, Xiaohua Wu, Chunhui Zhu, Jiabao Sun, Mitchel Vaninger, Paul F. Miceli, Jianqi Li, David J. Singh, Yew San Hor

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

One of the most promising avenues in 2D materials research is the synthesis of antiferromagnets employing 2D van der Waals (vdW) magnets. However, it has proven challenging, due in part to the complicated fabrication process and undesired adsorbates as well as the significantly deteriorated ferromagnetism at atomic layers. Here, the engineering of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) interlayer exchange coupling between atomically thin yet ferromagnetic CrTe2 layers in an ultra-high vacuum-free 2D magnetic crystal, Cr5Te8 is reported. By self-introducing interstitial Cr atoms in the vdW gaps, the emergent AFM ordering and the resultant giant magnetoresistance effect are induced. A large negative magnetoresistance …