Tunable room-temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped two-dimensional van der Waals ZnO

Rui Chen, Fuchuan Luo, Yuzi Liu, Yu Song, Yu Dong, Shan Wu, Jinhua Cao, Fuyi Yang, Alpha N’Diaye, Padraic Shafer, Yin Liu, Shuai Lou, Junwei Huang, Xiang Chen, Zixuan Fang, Qingjun Wang, Dafei Jin, Ran Cheng, Hongtao Yuan, Robert J. Birgeneau and Jie Yao ()
Additional contact information
Rui Chen: University of California
Fuchuan Luo: University of California
Yuzi Liu: Argonne National Laboratory
Yu Song: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yu Dong: Nanjing University
Shan Wu: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Jinhua Cao: University of California
Fuyi Yang: University of California
Alpha N’Diaye: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Padraic Shafer: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yin Liu: University of California
Shuai Lou: University of California
Junwei Huang: Nanjing University
Xiang Chen: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Zixuan Fang: University of California
Qingjun Wang: University of California
Dafei Jin: Argonne National Laboratory
Ran Cheng: University of California
Hongtao Yuan: Nanjing University
Robert J. Birgeneau: University of California
Jie Yao: University of California

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The recent discovery of ferromagnetism in two-dimensional van der Waals crystals has provoked a surge of interest in the exploration of fundamental spin interaction in reduced dimensions. However, existing material candidates have several limitations, notably lacking intrinsic room-temperature ferromagnetic order and air stability. Here, motivated by the anomalously high Curie temperature observed in bulk diluted magnetic oxides, we demonstrate room-temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped graphene-like Zinc Oxide, a chemically stable layered material in air, down to single atom thickness. Through the magneto-optic Kerr effect, superconducting quantum interference device and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements, we observe clear evidences of spontaneous magnetization in such exotic material systems at room temperature and above. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy results explicitly exclude the existence of metallic Co or cobalt oxides clusters. X-ray characterizations reveal that the substitutional Co atoms form Co2+ states in the graphitic lattice of ZnO. By varying the Co doping level, we observe transitions between paramagnetic, ferromagnetic and less ordered phases due to the interplay between impurity-band-exchange and super-exchange interactions. Our discovery opens another path to 2D ferromagnetism at room temperature with the advantage of exceptional tunability and robustness.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24247-w

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