Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies of epitaxially-grown van der Waals ferromagnets

Demand for faster, more-efficient electronic devices has driven research into materials with exotic magnetic and electronic properties. Ferromagnetic materials and their heterostructures are of special interest as potential components of ‘spintronic’ devices which manipulate electron spins to produce magnetic currents and fast computer memory. In this work, molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) techniques are applied to grow CrI3 and CrGeTe3 (CGT), which host rare two-dimensional magnetic order. Thin film samples of various thicknesses, down to single monolayer (ML) as well as bulk regime thickness, were grown using various conditions on graphene and Bi2Te3 substrates. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is applied to map the band structure of these films, confirming that insulating compounds were formed with a strong presence of the Cr 3d orbitals, which drive magnetic behavior, near the fermi level. This study suggests that MBE is a viable method for the production of 2D ferromagnetic vdW materials, and opens promising avenues of research into heterostructure studies, including the growth of ferromagnetic films in proximity with topological insulators.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Bowers, John Wilson

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chiang, Tai-Chang
• Eckstein, James N
• Stone, Michael
• Kahn, Yonatan F

• Arpes
• Mbe
• 2d Magnets

Statement dc:rights

• 2022 by John Wilson Bowers. All rights reserved.

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117760

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F117760