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Above-Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism in Thin van der Waals Flakes of Cobalt-Substituted Fe5GeTe2

MetadataDetails
Publication Date2023-01-05
JournalACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
AuthorsHang Chen, Shahidul Asif, Kapildeb Dolui, Y. Wang, Jeyson TƔmara-Isaza
InstitutionsUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, University of Delaware
Citations23

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic van der Waals materials provide a powerful platform for studying the fundamental physics of low-dimensional magnetism, engineering novel magnetic phases, and enabling thin and highly tunable spintronic devices. To realize high-quality and practical devices for such applications, there is a critical need for robust 2D magnets with ordering temperatures above room temperature that can be created via exfoliation. Here, the study of exfoliated flakes of cobalt-substituted Fe<sub>5</sub>GeTe<sub>2</sub> (CFGT) exhibiting magnetism above room temperature is reported. Via quantum magnetic imaging with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, ferromagnetism at room temperature was observed in CFGT flakes as thin as 16 nm corresponding to 16 layers. This result expands the portfolio of thin room-temperature 2D magnet flakes exfoliated from robust single crystals that reach a thickness regime relevant to practical spintronic applications. The Curie temperature <i>T</i><sub>c</sub> of CFGT ranges from 310 K in the thinnest flake studied to 328 K in the bulk. To investigate the prospect of high-temperature monolayer ferromagnetism, Monte Carlo calculations were performed, which predicted a high value of <i>T</i><sub>c</sub> of ∼270 K in CFGT monolayers. Pathways toward further enhancing monolayer <i>T</i><sub>c</sub> are discussed. These results support CFGT as a promising platform for realizing high-quality room-temperature 2D magnet devices.