Hydrogen-impurity induced unconventional magnetism in semiconducting molybdenum ditelluride

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that hydrogen-like impurities can induce and switch on magnetism in 2H-MoTe2, a semiconducting layered material, highlighting its potential for spintronic applications in van der Waals heterostructures.

Contribution

It provides experimental and theoretical evidence that hydrogen impurities can induce and control magnetism in 2H-MoTe2, a previously non-magnetic semiconductor.

Findings

Hydrogen impurities induce magnetic states in 2H-MoTe2.

Magnetism persists at the free surface, suitable for thin-film applications.

Magnetism can be switched on by impurity introduction.

Abstract

Layered transition-metal dichalcogenides are proposed as building blocks for van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures due to their graphene-like two dimensional structure. For this purpose, a magnetic semiconductor could represent an invaluable component for various spintronics and topotronics devices. Here, we combine different local magnetic probe spectroscopies with angle-resolved photoemission and density-functional theory calculations to show that 2H-MoTe2 is on the verge of becoming magnetic. Our results present clear evidence that the magnetism can be "switched on" by a hydrogen-like impurity. We also show that this magnetic state survives up to the free surface region, demonstrating the material's potential applicability as a magnetic component for thin-film heterostructures.