Growth-controlled suppression of electrically active defects in CrSBr

Abstract

In CrSBr, as in many crystalline materials, the type and density of defects are expected to strongly influence material behavior. Identifying the underlying atomic defect configurations and controlling their populations during growth are therefore important steps toward understanding and ultimately tailoring its rich magneto-electrical properties. However, systematic control of defects in CrSBr during chemical vapor transport (CVT) growth has not yet been established. Here, we correlate CVT growth conditions with defect concentrations measured using conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM). We focus on a characteristic defect with a strong electronic fingerprint, labeled D*, and decrease its concentration by up to an order of magnitude through optimized growth conditions. We show that defect densities can be tuned by adjusting precursor stoichiometry, where sulfur- and bromine-rich conditions suppress defect formation, and by lowering the absolute growth temperatures while maintaining the same temperature gradient. Thermodynamic modeling and density functional theory calculations suggest that D* is most consistent with a sulfur-related vacancy complex rather than an isolated point defect. These results provide practical strategies for growing high-quality CrSBr with controlled defect densities.