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arXiv · 2201.08509

Mechanical control of physical properties in the van der Waals ferromagnet Cr2Ge2Te6 via application of electric current

Hengdi Zhao·Yifei Ni·Bing Hu·Sabastian Selter·Saicharan Aswartham·Yu Zhang·Bernd Büchner·Pedro Schlottmann·Gang Cao
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Abstract

Cr2Ge2Te6 is a van der Waals ferromagnet with a Curie temperature at 66 K. Here we report a swift change in the magnetic ground state upon application of small DC electric current, a giant yet anisotropic magnetoelectric effect, and a sharp, lattice-driven quantum switching manifested in the I-V characteristic of the bulk single-crystal Cr2Ge2Te6. At the heart of these observed phenomena is a newly uncovered, strongly anisotropic magnetoelastic coupling that enables strongly anisotropic responses of the lattice to application of electric current and/or magnetic field, thus the exotic phenomena in Cr2Ge2Te6. Such a rare mechanical tunability in the magnetic semiconductors promises tantalizing prospects for unique functional materials and devices.

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Hengdi Zhao, Yifei Ni, Bing Hu, Sabastian Selter, Saicharan Aswartham, Yu Zhang, Bernd Büchner, Pedro Schlottmann, Gang Cao. 2022-01-21. Mechanical control of physical properties in the van der Waals ferromagnet Cr2Ge2Te6 via application of electric current. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.106.l041103

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