Room temperature multiferroicity in a transition metal dichalcogenide

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of room temperature multiferroicity in Te-doped WSe2, a transition metal dichalcogenide, demonstrating coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity in a 2D material, which was previously elusive.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of multiferroic states at room temperature in a 2D transition metal dichalcogenide, expanding the scope of multifunctional materials.

Findings

Coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity in Te-doped WSe2

Room temperature multiferroic behavior observed in bulk single crystals

Potential for new nanoelectronics and spintronics applications

Abstract

The coexistence of multiple ferroic orders, i.e. multiferroicity, is a scarce property to be found in materials. Historically, this state has been found mainly in 3-dimensional complex oxides, but so far this state has still been elusive for the most widely studied and characterized family of 2-dimensional compounds, the transition metal dichalcogenides. In this study we report the experimental realization of multiferroic states in this family of materials, at room temperature, in bulk single crystals of Te-doped WSe2. We observe the coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity, evidenced in the presence of magnetization and piezoresponse force microscopy hysteresis loops. These findings open the possibility of widening the use and study of van der Waals-based multifunctional devices for new nanoelectronics and spintronics applications.