Magnetic Properties of Proton Irradiated Mn 3 Si 2 Te 6 van der Waals Single Crystals
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MRS Advances © 2019 Materials Research Society DOI: 10.1557/adv.2019.260
Magnetic Properties of Proton Irradiated Mn3Si2Te6 van der Waals Single Crystals L. M. Martinez1, C. L. Saiz1, A. Cosio1, R. Olmos1, H. Iturriaga1, L. Shao2, S. R. Singamaneni1 1
Department of Physics, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
2
Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
ABSTRACT
The bulk van der Waals crystal Mn3Si2Te6 (MST) has been irradiated with a proton beam of 2 MeV at a fluence of 1×1018 H+ cm-2. The temperature dependent magnetization measurements show a drastic decrease in the magnetization of 49.2% in the H//c direction observed in ferrimagnetic state. This decrease in magnetization is also reflected in the isothermal magnetization curves. No significant change in the ferrimagnetic transition temperature (75 K) was reflected after irradiation. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy shows no magnetically active defects present after irradiation. Here, experimental findings gathered from MST bulk crystals via magnetic measurements, magnetocaloric effect, and heat capacity are discussed.
INTRODUCTION Research in graphene began a revolution that has led to a profound interest in two-dimensional (2D) materials [1–3]. Although graphene and other 2D materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have exhibited attractive mechanical and optical properties, the possibility of introducing magnetism into these materials has received limited interest until now [4]. A recent surge in the interest for the layered van der Waals (vdW) crystals has opened doors for many researchers to take these materials to the 2D limit [1,2]. Various studies have shown that the magnetism in these vdW materials can be retained down to the monolayer limit [5–7]. An example of this phenomena is CrI3, a layer dependent vdW material that exhibits ferromagnetic behaviour in its monolayer and bulk form, yet exhibits antiferromagnetic behaviour in its
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bilayer form [5]. The ability to manipulate the magnetism in these materials by tuning the number of layers is highly desirable, especially when ferromagnetic ordering can be achieved at higher temperatures. For instance, bulk CrSiTe 3 (CST) exhibits ferromagnetic ordering at T = 32 K, but can be manipulated to exhibit this ordering at about 80 K by simple mechanical exfoliation down to the monolayer [8]. Although this class of materials may produce ferromagnetic behaviour at a higher temperature, it is still drastically lower than the desired temperature (300 K) for practical applications [3]. In order to reach the desired room temperature ferromagnetism, a better understanding of the properties of these vdW crystals is needed. Of particular interest is the vdW crystal Mn3Si2Te
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