Xian Jing-Jing, Wang Cong, Nie Jin-Hua, Li Rui, Han Mengjiao, Lin Junhao, Zhang Wen-Hao, Liu Zhen-Yu, Zhang Zhi-Mo, Miao Mao-Peng, Yi Yangfan, Wu Shiwei, Chen Xiaodie, Han Junbo, Xia Zhengcai, Ji Wei, Fu Ying-Shuang
School of Physics and Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Micro-Nano Devices, Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China.
Nat Commun. 2022 Jan 11;13(1):257. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27834-z.
Intrinsic antiferromagnetism in van der Waals (vdW) monolayer (ML) crystals enriches our understanding of two-dimensional (2D) magnetic orders and presents several advantages over ferromagnetism in spintronic applications. However, studies of 2D intrinsic antiferromagnetism are sparse, owing to the lack of net magnetisation. Here, by combining spin-polarised scanning tunnelling microscopy and first-principles calculations, we investigate the magnetism of vdW ML CrTe, which has been successfully grown through molecular-beam epitaxy. We observe a stable antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at the atomic scale in the ML crystal, whose bulk is ferromagnetic, and correlate its imaged zigzag spin texture with the atomic lattice structure. The AFM order exhibits an intriguing noncollinear spin reorientation under magnetic fields, consistent with its calculated moderate magnetic anisotropy. The findings of this study demonstrate the intricacy of 2D vdW magnetic materials and pave the way for their in-depth analysis.
范德华（vdW）单层（ML）晶体中的本征反铁磁性丰富了我们对二维（2D）磁序的理解，并且在自旋电子学应用中相对于铁磁性具有若干优势。然而，由于缺乏净磁化强度，二维本征反铁磁性的研究较为稀少。在此，通过结合自旋极化扫描隧道显微镜和第一性原理计算，我们研究了通过分子束外延成功生长的vdW ML CrTe的磁性。我们在ML晶体的原子尺度上观察到一种稳定的反铁磁（AFM）序，其体相是铁磁性的，并将其成像的锯齿状自旋纹理与原子晶格结构相关联。该AFM序在磁场下表现出有趣的非共线自旋重取向，与其计算得到的中等磁各向异性一致。本研究的结果证明了二维vdW磁性材料的复杂性，并为其深入分析铺平了道路。
