Premium
Engineering of Magnetically Intercalated Silicene Compound: An Overlooked Polymorph of EuSi 2
Author(s) -
Tokmachev Andrey M.,
Averyanov Dmitry V.,
Karateev Igor A.,
Parfenov Oleg E.,
Kondratev Oleg A.,
Taldenkov Alexander N.,
Storchak Vyacheslav G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201606603
Subject(s) - silicene , materials science , ferromagnetism , magnetism , antiferromagnetism , spintronics , condensed matter physics , crystallography , electron diffraction , intercalation (chemistry) , graphene , nanotechnology , chemical physics , diffraction , inorganic chemistry , physics , optics , chemistry
Silicene, a Si analogue of graphene, is suggested to become a versatile material for nanoelectronics. Being coupled with magnetism, it is predicted to be particularly suitable for spintronic applications. However, experimental realization of free‐standing silicene and its magnetic derivatives is lacking. Fortunately, magnetism can be induced into silicene layers, in particular, by intercalation. Here, a successful synthesis of multilayer silicene intercalated by inherently magnetic Eu ions – a compound expected to exhibit both massless Dirac‐cone states, as its Ca analogue, and a nontrivial magnetic structure – is reported. This new polymorph with EuSi 2 stoichiometry is epitaxially stabilized by continual replication of silicene layers employing Sr‐intercalated multilayer silicene as a template. The atomic structure of the new compound and its sharp interface with the template are confirmed using electron diffraction, X‐ray diffraction, and electron microscopy techniques. Below 80 K, the material demonstrates anisotropic antiferromagnetism coexisting with weak ferromagnetism. The magnetic state is accompanied by an anomalous behavior of magnetoresistivity.