Quasi-1D van der Waals Antiferromagnetic CrZr₄ Te₁₄ with Large In-Plane Anisotropic Negative Magnetoresistance.

Abstract

The discovery of 2D van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials is of great significance to explore intriguing 2D magnetic physics and develop innovative spintronic devices. In this work, a new quasi-1D vdW layered compound CrZr₄ Te₁₄ is successfully synthesized. Owing to the existence of 1D [CrTe₂ ] and [ZrTe₃ ] chains along the b-axis, CrZr₄ Te₁₄ crystals show strong anisotropy of phonon vibrations, electrical transport, and magnetism. Density functional theory calculations reveal the ferromagnetic (FM) coupling within the [CrTe₂ ] chain, while the interchain and interlayer couplings are both weakly antiferromagnetic (AF). Notably, a large intrinsic negative magnetoresistance (nMR) of -56% is achieved at 2 K under 9 T, and the in-plane anisotropic factor of nMR can reach up to 8.2 in the CrZr₄ Te₁₄ device. The 1D FM chains and anisotropic nMR effect make CrZr₄ Te₁₄ an interesting platform for exploring novel polarization-sensitive spintronics.