Nature Communications 13: 257 (2022)
Jing-Jing Xian#, Cong Wang#, Jin-Hua Nie, Rui Li, Mengjiao Han, Junhao Lin, Wen-Hao Zhang, Zhen-Yu Liu, Zhi-Mo Zhang, Mao-Peng Miao, Yangfan Yi, Shiwei Wu, Xiaodie Chen, Junbo Han, Zhengcai Xia, Wei Ji* & Ying-Shuang Fu*
Abstract
Intrinsic antiferromagnetism in van der Waals (vdW) monolayer (ML) crystals enriches our understanding of two-dimensional (2D) magnetic orders and presents several advantages over ferromagnetism in spintronic applications. However, studies of 2D intrinsic antiferromagnetism are sparse, owing to the lack of net magnetisation. Here, by combining spin-polarised scanning tunnelling microscopy and first-principles calculations, we investigate the magnetism of vdW ML CrTe2, which has been successfully grown through molecular-beam epitaxy. We observe a stable antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at the atomic scale in the ML crystal, whose bulk is ferromagnetic, and correlate its imaged zigzag spin texture with the atomic lattice structure. The AFM order exhibits an intriguing noncollinear spin reorientation under magnetic fields, consistent with its calculated moderate magnetic anisotropy. The findings of this study demonstrate the intricacy of 2D vdW magnetic materials and pave the way for their in-depth analysis.
