Probing magnetism in 2D van der Waals crystalline insulators via electron tunneling

• Main Authors: Klein, Dahlia Rivka (Author), MacNeill, David (Author), Lado, J. L. (Author), Soriano, D. (Author), Navarro-Moratalla, E. (Author), Watanabe, K. (Author), Taniguchi, T. (Author), Manni, S. (Author), Canfield, P. (Author), Fernandez-Rossier, J. (Author), Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo (Author)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2019-06-17T19:52:43Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Magnetic insulators are a key resource for next-generation spintronic and topological devices. The family of layered metal halides promises varied magnetic states, including ultrathin insulating multiferroics, spin liquids, and ferromagnets, but device-oriented characterization methods are needed to unlock their potential. Here, we report tunneling through the layered magnetic insulator CrI₃ as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field.We electrically detect the magnetic ground state and interlayer coupling and observe a fieldinducedmetamagnetic transition.The metamagnetic transition results in magnetoresistances of 95, 300, and 550% for bilayer, trilayer, and tetralayer CrI₃ barriers, respectively.We further measure inelastic tunneling spectra for our junctions, unveiling a rich spectrum consistent with collective magnetic excitations (magnons) in CrI₃.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Grant GBMF4541)