Modulating Curie Temperature and Magnetic Anisotropy in Nanoscale Layered Cr_{2}Te_{3} Films: Implications for Room-Temperature Spintronics

TL;DR

This study introduces a growth method to tune the Curie temperature and magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin Cr2Te3 films, enhancing their potential for room-temperature spintronic devices by controlling magnetic properties during fabrication.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach to modulate magnetic properties of layered ferromagnetic films during growth, specifically controlling T_C and anisotropy via Te flux adjustments.

Findings

Curie temperature increased from 165 K to 310 K.

Magnetic anisotropy switched from out-of-plane to in-plane.

Orbital magnetic moment switching explained the anisotropy change.

Abstract

Nanoscale layered ferromagnets have demonstrated fascinating two-dimensional magnetism down to atomic layers, providing a peculiar playground of spin orders for investigating fundamental physics and spintronic applications. However, strategy for growing films with designed magnetic properties is not well established yet. Herein, we present a versatile method to control the Curie temperature (T_{C}) and magnetic anisotropy during growth of ultrathin Cr_{2}Te_{3} films. We demonstrate increase of the TC from 165 K to 310 K in sync with magnetic anisotropy switching from an out-of-plane orientation to an in-plane one, respectively, via controlling the Te source flux during film growth, leading to different c-lattice parameters while preserving the stoichiometries and thicknesses of the films. We attributed this modulation of magnetic anisotropy to the switching of the orbital magnetic moment, using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism analysis. We also inferred that different c-lattice constants might be responsible for the magnetic anisotropy change, supported by theoretical calculations. These findings emphasize the potential of ultrathin Cr_{2}Te_{3} films as candidates for developing room-temperature spintronics applications and similar growth strategies could be applicable to fabricate other nanoscale layered magnetic compounds.