Skip to content Skip to navigation

Controlling magnetism in 2D CrI by electrostatic doping.

TitleControlling magnetism in 2D CrI by electrostatic doping.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsJiang, S, Li, L, Wang, Z, Mak, KFai, Shan, J
JournalNat Nanotechnol
Volume13
Issue7
Pagination549-553
Date Published2018 07
ISSN1748-3395
Abstract

The atomic thickness of two-dimensional materials provides a unique opportunity to control their electrical and optical properties as well as to drive the electronic phase transitions by electrostatic doping. The discovery of two-dimensional magnetic materials has opened up the prospect of the electrical control of magnetism and the realization of new functional devices. A recent experiment based on the linear magneto-electric effect has demonstrated control of the magnetic order in bilayer CrI by electric fields. However, this approach is limited to non-centrosymmetric materials magnetically biased near the antiferromagnet-ferromagnet transition. Here, we demonstrate control of the magnetic properties of both monolayer and bilayer CrI by electrostatic doping using CrI-graphene vertical heterostructures. In monolayer CrI, doping significantly modifies the saturation magnetization, coercive force and Curie temperature, showing strengthened/weakened magnetic order with hole/electron doping. Remarkably, in bilayer CrI, the electron doping above ~2.5 × 10 cm induces a transition from an antiferromagnetic to a ferromagnetic ground state in the absence of a magnetic field. The result reveals a strongly doping-dependent interlayer exchange coupling, which enables robust switching of magnetization in bilayer CrI by small gate voltages.

DOI10.1038/s41565-018-0135-x
Alternate JournalNat Nanotechnol
PubMed ID29736035