Manipulating exchange bias in 2D magnetic heterojunction for high-performance robust memory applications

Xinyu Huang; Luman Zhang; Lei Tong; Zheng Li; Zhuiri Peng; Runfeng Lin; Wenhao Shi; Kan-Hao Xue; Hongwei Dai; Hui Cheng; Danilo de Camargo Branco; Jianbin Xu; Junbo Han; Gary J Cheng; Xiangshui Miao; Lei Ye

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37918-7

Manipulating exchange bias in 2D magnetic heterojunction for high-performance robust memory applications

Nat Commun. 2023 Apr 17;14(1):2190. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37918-7.

Authors

Xinyu Huang^#^{1

2}, Luman Zhang^#³, Lei Tong^#¹, Zheng Li¹, Zhuiri Peng¹, Runfeng Lin¹, Wenhao Shi¹, Kan-Hao Xue¹, Hongwei Dai³, Hui Cheng³, Danilo de Camargo Branco⁴, Jianbin Xu⁵, Junbo Han⁶, Gary J Cheng⁷, Xiangshui Miao^{8

9}, Lei Ye^{10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ School of Integrated Circuits, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
² Hubei Yangtze Memory Laboratories, Wuhan, 430205, China.
³ Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center and Department of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
⁴ School of Industrial Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Centre, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
⁵ Department of Electronic Engineering, Materials Science and Technology Research Center, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
⁶ Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center and Department of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China. junbo.han@mail.hust.edu.cn.
⁷ School of Industrial Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Centre, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA. gjcheng@purdue.edu.
⁸ School of Integrated Circuits, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China. miaoxs@hust.edu.cn.
⁹ Hubei Yangtze Memory Laboratories, Wuhan, 430205, China. miaoxs@hust.edu.cn.
¹⁰ School of Integrated Circuits, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China. leiye@hust.edu.cn.
¹¹ Hubei Yangtze Memory Laboratories, Wuhan, 430205, China. leiye@hust.edu.cn.
¹² State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200083, China. leiye@hust.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The exchange bias (EB) effect plays an undisputed role in the development of highly sensitive, robust, and high-density spintronic devices in magnetic data storage. However, the weak EB field, low blocking temperature, as well as the lack of modulation methods, seriously limit the application of EB in van der Waals (vdW) spintronic devices. Here, we utilized pressure engineering to tune the vdW spacing of the two-dimensional (2D) FePSe₃/Fe₃GeTe₂ heterostructures. The EB field (H_EB, from 29.2 mT to 111.2 mT) and blocking temperature (T_b, from 20 K to 110 K) are significantly enhanced, and a highly sensitive and robust spin valve is demonstrated. Interestingly, this enhancement of the EB effect was extended to exposed Fe₃GeTe₂, due to the single-domain nature of Fe₃GeTe₂. Our findings provide opportunities for the producing, exploring, and tuning of magnetic vdW heterostructures with strong interlayer coupling, thereby enabling customized 2D spintronic devices in the future.

Grants and funding

61974050/National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)