Ferromagnetism in two-dimensional CrTe2 epitaxial films down to a few atomic layers

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals ferromagnetic materials have attracted intense attention due to their potential impact on both fundamental and applied research studies. Recently, a new 2D ferromagnet CrTe2, prepared by mechanical exfoliation or chemical vapor deposition, has gained interest due to its novel magnetic properties. In this work, high quality CrTe2 epitaxial thin films were prepared on GaAs (111)B substrates using solid source molecular beam epitaxy, with the thickness varying from 35 to 4 monolayers (MLs). The magnetic easy axis of all the films is oriented along the c-axis. A Curie temperature of 205 K is found in the 35 ML CrTe2 film, measured by the temperature-dependent anomalous Hall resistance (RAHE). Importantly, even when the film thickness decreases to 4 MLs, a robust out-of-plane ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature of 191 K has been demonstrated. This finding could pave the way for investigating the fundamental studies in 2D ferromagnetism and has great significance in device applications.