Magnetic 2D materials

Magnetic 2D materials or magnetic van der Waals materials are two-dimensional materials that display ordered magnetic properties such as antiferromagnetism or ferromagnetism. After the discovery of graphene in 2004, the family of 2D materials has grown rapidly. There have since been reports of several related materials, all except for magnetic materials. But since 2016 there have been numerous reports of 2D magnetic materials that can be exfoliated with ease just like graphene.

The first few-layered van der Waals magnetism was reported in 2017 (Cr2Ge2Te6,[1] and CrI3[2]).[3] One reason for this seemingly late discovery is that thermal fluctuations tend to destroy magnetic order for 2D magnets more easily compared to 3D bulk. It is also generally accepted in the community that low dimensional materials have different magnetic properties compared to bulk. This academic interest that transition from 3D to 2D magnetism can be measured has been the driving force behind much of the recent works on van der Waals magnets. Much anticipated transition of such has been since observed in both antiferromagnets and ferromagnets: FePS3,[4] Cr2Ge2Te6,[1] CrI3,[2] NiPS3,[5] MnPS3,[6] Fe3GeTe2[7]

Although the field has been only around since 2016, it has become one of the most active fields in condensed matter physics and materials science and engineering. There have been several review articles written up to highlight its future and promise.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ a b Gong, C.; et al. (2017). "Discovery of intrinsic ferromagnetism in two-dimensional van der Waals crystals". Nature. 546 (7657): 1–2. arXiv:1703.05753. Bibcode:2017Natur.546..265G. doi:10.1038/nature22060. PMID 28445468. S2CID 2633044.
  2. ^ a b Huang, B.; et al. (2017). "Layer-dependent ferromagnetism in a van der Waals crystal down to the monolayer limit". Nature. 546 (7657): 270–273. arXiv:1703.05892. Bibcode:2017Natur.546..270H. doi:10.1038/nature22391. PMID 28593970. S2CID 4456526.
  3. ^ Samarth, N. (2017). "Magnetism in flatland". Nature. 546 (7657): 216–217. doi:10.1038/546216a. PMID 28593959.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference lee2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kim2019a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chu2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Fei, Z.; et al. (2018). "Two-dimensional itinerant ferromagnetism in atomically thin Fe3GeTe2". Nature Materials. 17 (9): 778–782. arXiv:1803.02559. Bibcode:2018NatMa..17..778F. doi:10.1038/s41563-018-0149-7. PMID 30104669. S2CID 51972811.
  8. ^ Burch, Kenneth; Mandrus, David; Park, Je-Geun (2018). "Magnetism in two-dimensional van der Waals materials". Nature. 563 (7729): 47–52. Bibcode:2018Natur.563...47B. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0631-z. OSTI 1481645. PMID 30382199. S2CID 53180804.
  9. ^ Gibertini, M.; et al. (2019). "Magnetic 2D materials and heterostructures". Nature Nanotechnology. 14 (5): 408–419. arXiv:1910.03425. Bibcode:2019NatNa..14..408G. doi:10.1038/s41565-019-0438-6. PMID 31065072. S2CID 205568917.
  10. ^ Cheng, Gong (2019). "Two-dimensional magnetic crystals and emergent heterostructure devices". Science. 363 (6428): 4450. doi:10.1126/science.aav4450. PMID 30765537. S2CID 62860328.