Researchers unveil proximity-induced electrical transport properties of Pt/CrI₃ heterostructure

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Two-dimensional magnetic materials have remarkable potential applications in spin switches and storage devices. Designing innovative device architectures and exploring their electrical transport characteristics are becoming more and more important.

Recently, researchers from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators from Henan University investigated the electrical transport properties of Pt/CrI₃ heterostructure. The work is published in the journal Applied Surface Science.

The research team prepared high-quality single crystals of CrI₃ with a chemical vapor deposition method, and constructed Pt/CrI₃ heterostructures through micro-nanofabrication techniques.

They also investigated the interaction between magnetic and electronic transport properties within this structure.

Their study showed that Pt film exhibited an anomalous Hall effect upon contact with CrI₃ nanosheets, indicating that the film acquires ferromagnetism through magnetic proximity effect.

Moreover, the gradual weakening of the anomalous Hall effect with increasing temperature suggests that the magnetization in the Pt layer is primarily attributed to proximity effects.

As the thickness of the Pt layer increases, a decrease in anomalous Hall resistance further confirms that magnetization in the Pt film is predominantly influenced by interface effects, the researchers found.

Researchers also observed that the increase in applied current resulted in a reduction of coercivity and saturation resistance of the Pt layer. First-principles calculations suggest that a hybridized orbital is formed at the interface of the Pt/CrI₃ heterostructure, leading to significant splitting of Fermi level for Pt and resulting in uneven spin density distribution and generation of magnetic moment.

“These findings demonstrate the precise control of electronic exchange interactions at interfaces, and hold significant implications for designing innovative spintronics devices,” said associate researcher Han Yuyan from HFIPS, one of the corresponding authors of the study.