Coexistence of Magnetic Orders in Two-Dimensional Magnet CrI3.

The magnetic properties in two-dimensional van der Waals materials depend sensitively on structure. CrI3, as an example, has been recently demonstrated to exhibit distinct magnetic properties depending on the layer thickness and stacking order. Bulk CrI3 is ferromagnetic (FM) with a Curie temperature of 61 K and a rhombohedral layer stacking, whereas few-layer CrI3 has a layered antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase with a lower ordering temperature of 45 K and a monoclinic stacking. In this work, we use cryogenic magnetic force microscopy to investigate CrI3 flakes in the intermediate thickness range (25-200 nm) and find that the two types of magnetic orders, hence the stacking orders, can coexist in the same flake with a layer of ∼13 nm at each surface being in the layered AFM phase similar to few-layer CrI3 and the rest in the bulk FM phase. The switching of the bulk moment proceeds through a remnant state with nearly compensated magnetic moment along the c-axis, indicating formation of c-axis domains allowed by a weak interlayer coupling strength in the rhombohedral phase. Our results provide a comprehensive picture on the magnetism in CrI3 and point to the possibility of engineering magnetic heterostructures within the same material.

Imaging quantum spin Hall edges in monolayer WTe2.

A two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator exhibits the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, in which topologically protected conducting channels exist at the sample edges. Experimental signatures of the QSH effect have recently been reported in an atomically thin material, monolayer WTe2. Here, we directly image the local conductivity of monolayer WTe2 using microwave impedance microscopy, establishing beyond doubt that conduction is indeed strongly localized to the physical edges at temperatures up to 77 K and above. The edge conductivity shows no gap as a function of gate voltage, and is suppressed by magnetic field as expected. We observe additional conducting features which can be explained by edge states following boundaries between topologically trivial and nontrivial regions. These observations will be critical for interpreting and improving the properties of devices incorporating WTe2. Meanwhile, they reveal the robustness of the QSH channels and the potential to engineer them in the monolayer material platform.