Probing the Spin Dimensionality in Single-Layer CrSBr Van Der Waals Heterostructures by Magneto-Transport Measurements.

Boix-Constant, Carla; Mañas-Valero, Samuel; Ruiz, Alberto M; Rybakov, Andrey; Konieczny, Krzysztof Aleksander; Pillet, Sébastien; Baldoví, José J; Coronado, Eugenio · Adv Mater · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

2D magnetic materials offer unprecedented opportunities for fundamental and applied research in spintronics and magnonics. Beyond the pioneering studies on 2D CrI<sub>3</sub> and Cr<sub>2</sub> Ge<sub>2</sub> Te<sub>6</sub> , the field has expanded to 2D antiferromagnets exhibiting different spin anisotropies and textures. Of particular interest is the layered metamagnet CrSBr, a relatively air-stable semiconductor formed by antiferromagnetically-coupled ferromagnetic layers (T<sub>c</sub> ∼150 K) that can be exfoliated down to the single-layer. It presents a complex magnetic behavior with a dynamic magnetic crossover, exhibiting a low-temperature hidden-order below T*∼40 K. Here, the magneto-transport properties of CrSBr vertical heterostructures in the 2D limit are inspected. The results demonstrate the marked low-dimensional character of the ferromagnetic monolayer, with short-range correlations above T<sub>c</sub> and an Ising-type in-plane anisotropy, being the spins spontaneously aligned along the easy axis b below T<sub>c</sub> . By applying moderate magnetic fields along a and c axes, a spin-reorientation occurs, leading to a magnetoresistance enhancement below T*. In multilayers, a spin-valve behavior is observed, with negative magnetoresistance strongly enhanced along the three directions below T*. These results show that CrSBr monolayer/bilayer provides an ideal platform for studying and controlling field-induced phenomena in two-dimensions, offering new insights regarding 2D magnets and their integration into vertical spintronic devices.