Modulating above-room-temperature magnetism in Ga-implanted Fe₅GeTe₂ van der Waals magnets

The creation of van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets with tunable Curie temperature (TC) and magnetic anisotropy is essential in developing vdW magnet-based devices. Here, we report an effective and reliable method for modulating the magnetic properties of vdW Fe5GeTe2 by site-specific Ga+ implantation. In this study, we report an easy axis in the ab-plane for bulk Fe5GeTe2 (T-C = 310 K) and an axis out of the plane for thin Fe5GeTe2 flakes (T-C = 290 K). Combining element-resolved photoemission electron microscopy and spatially resolved magneto-optic Kerr microscopy, we find that the implantation of a tiny amount of 10(-3) Ga+center dot angstrom(-3) in Fe5GeTe2 greatly enhances the T-C from 290 to 360 K and switches the magnetic easy axis from the out-of-plane c axis to the ab-plane. The room-temperature x-ray magnetic circular dichroism signal is enhanced from 0% to 9% at an implantation level of 10(-2) Ga+center dot angstrom(-3). These results provide new opportunities for tailoring the magnetic properties of vdW materials beyond room temperature. (c) 2023 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0168468