Very Large Tunneling Magnetoresistance in Layered Magnetic Semiconductor CrI$_3$

TL;DR

This paper reports a groundbreaking observation of extremely large tunneling magnetoresistance in exfoliated CrI3, revealing a strong coupling between magnetic states and electronic transport in layered magnetic semiconductors.

Contribution

It presents the first magneto-transport measurements on CrI3, demonstrating a magnetoresistance up to 10,000% and linking it to multiple magnetic state transitions.

Findings

Tunneling magnetoresistance up to 10,000% observed.

Magnetoresistance varies with magnetic field and temperature.

Strong coupling between magnetic states and transport in CrI3.

Abstract

Magnetic layered van der Waals crystals are an emerging class of materials giving access to new physical phenomena, as illustrated by the recent observation of 2D ferromagnetism in Cr2Ge2Te6 and CrI3. Of particular interest in semiconductors is the interplay between magnetism and transport, which has remained unexplored. Here we report first magneto-transport measurements on exfoliated CrI3 crystals. We find that tunneling conduction in the direction perpendicular to the crystalline planes exhibits a magnetoresistance as large as 10 000 %. The evolution of the magnetoresistance with magnetic field and temperature reveals that the phenomenon originates from multiple transitions to different magnetic states, whose possible microscopic nature is discussed on the basis of all existing experimental observations. This observed dependence of the conductance of a tunnel barrier on its magnetic state is a new phenomenon that demonstrates the presence of a strong coupling between transport and magnetism in magnetic van der Waals semiconductors.