Pressure-Tuned Magnetism and Bandgap Modulation in Layered Fe-Doped CrCl3

TL;DR

This study combines experimental and theoretical methods to investigate how pressure influences the structural, magnetic, vibrational, and optical properties of Fe-doped CrCl3, revealing pressure-induced magnetic and bandgap modulations.

Contribution

It provides new insights into pressure-induced magnetic and electronic phase transitions in Fe-doped CrCl3 through combined experimental and DFT analysis.

Findings

Optical bandgap increases with pressure, especially below 6 GPa.

Pressure enhances ferromagnetic interlayer coupling initially, then stabilizes antiferromagnetic order.

Above 1.2 GPa, ferromagnetic component disappears, aligning with DFT predictions.

Abstract

We explore the structural, magnetic, vibrational and optical band gap properties under varying pressures. By integrating first-principles calculations with experimental techniques, including Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), uniaxial pressure studies (thermal expansion), and magnetization measurements, we unveil the intricate pressure-induced transformations in Fe-doped CrCl3, shedding light on its structural, electronic, and magnetic evolution. At ambient pressure, Raman spectra confirm all expected Raman-active modes, which exhibit blue shifts with increasing pressure. The PL measurements demonstrate an optical bandgap of 1.48 eV at ~0.6 GPa, with a progressive increase in the bandgap under pressure, transitioning slower above 6 GPa due to an isostructural phase transition. Magnetization results under pressure shows two competing magnetic components (FM and AFM) at ambient conditions, where at the lowest temperature and applied field, the FM component dominates. The presence of competing FM and AFM energy scales is confirmed by Grueneisen analysis of the thermal expansion and their uniaxial pressure dependence is determined. The experimental findings agree with theoretical results based on Density functional theory (DFT). In the experiments, we observe a pressure-enhanced ferromagnetic interlayer coupling that is followed by the stabilization of antiferromagnetic ordering, due to weakened direct interlayer interactions. Above 1.2 GPa the FM component of the magnetism is gone in the experimental observations, which is also in good agreement with DFT based theory. The findings reported here underscore the potential of CrCl3 for use in pressure-tunable magnetic and optoelectronic applications, where, e.g., the delicate balance between FM and AFM configurations could have potential for sensor applications.