Ferromagnetism of Molecular Beam Epitaxy‐grown Ultra‐thin Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 Films Down to the Monolayer Limit on Si Substrates

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Authors: Pengfei Ji, Ruixuan Liu, Tianchen Zhu, Yang Chen, Yitian Tong, Jinxuan Liang, Yunhe Bai, Yunyi Zang, Zuhan Geng, Fangting Chen, Xiyu Hong, Jiatong Zhang
+4 more Luyi Yang, QK Xue, Kai He, Xiao Feng
Cited by: 1
References: 46

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 , a prototypical van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnetic semiconductor, has attracted significant interest for its potential applications in high‐performance spintronics. However, the magnetic ground state of monolayer Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 remains elusive due to fragile and irregularly shaped thin flake samples with weak magnetic signals. Here, we successfully grow Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 films down to one monolayer by molecular beam epitaxy. By exploiting a self‐limiting growth mode, we achieve uniform monolayer Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 films across entire millimeter‐scale Si substrates. Through a combination of superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and anomalous Hall effect measurements, we establish that monolayer Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 exhibits intrinsic ferromagnetism with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy below 10 K, albeit with strong magnetic fluctuations characteristic of its 2D nature. Furthermore, a systematic thickness‐dependent study reveals that a crossover from this fluctuation‐dominated 2D magnetism turns into conventional long‐range ferromagnetic order as the film thickness increases. Our work not only definitively establishes the intrinsic ferromagnetic ground state of monolayer Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 , but also provides a scalable, silicon‐compatible route for preparing the 2D magnet for future spintronic or quantum devices.

Fields of Study & Subjects

2D Materials and Applications Heusler alloys: electronic and magnetic properties Graphene research and applications

Publication details

Journal / source
Advanced Materials
Publisher
Wiley
Pages
e72994–e72994
Publication date
8 April 2026
Language
EN