Atomic‐Scale Detection of Néel Vector Switching in the Single‐Layer A‐Type Antiferromagnet Cr 2 S 3 ‐2D
Affan Safeer, Calisa Dias, Mahdi Ghorbani‐Asl, Abdallah Karaka, Pradyumna Bawankule, Weibin Li, Pierluigi Gargiani, Wouter Jolie, Arkady V. Krasheninnikov, Amilcar Bedoya‐Pinto, Thomas Michely, Jeison FischerABSTRACT
The detection of Néel vector switching in a single‐layer A‐type antiferromagnet marks an important step toward functional two‐dimensional spintronics. Here, ‐2D, grown on graphene on Ir(110), is established as a first single‐layer A‐type antiferromagnet. Spin‐polarized scanning tunneling microscopy reveals hysteresis loops with a large switching field and a pronounced dependence on island size. X‐ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Cr edges exhibits a tiny signal with a linear magnetic field dependence, consistent with an antiferromagnetic ground state with an estimated net moment below per Cr and a Néel temperature of about 160 K. Quantitative analysis of the island‐size dependence of the switching field, together with first‐principles calculations, indicates a slight imbalance between the magnetic moments of the two Cr planes of ‐2D when supported on a substrate. This imbalance results in a net magnetization for the A‐type antiferromagnet, which enables the 180 rotation of the Néel vector. Moreover, ‐2D retains its magnetic properties after several days of exposure to air.