Research Projects

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals ferromagnets like CrTe₂ (CrₓTe₂₋ₓ) are promising for spintronics due to their layered nature and near-room-temperature ferromagnetism. While effects like MR and AHE have been shown in exfoliated flakes, thin-film studies remain limited. Of particular interest are in-plane phenomena like AMR and PHE, offering high angular sensitivity for nanoscale magnetic sensing. Recent advances in CrTe₂ research have demonstrated its potential for spintronics, but gaps remain in thin‐film transport and thermoelectric studies. Different tools such as X ray and magnetic force microscopy have been used to reveal room‐temperature in plane Néel type domain walls in micron sized CrTe₂ flakes, with coercivity increasing as flake thickness decrease. Using a diamond NV single spin magnetometer, showed ∼27 kA/m in plane magnetization at room temperature, confirming CrTe₂’s unique intrinsic anisotropy above 300 K. MBE synthesized CrTe₂ films on GaAs(111)B demonstrated epitaxial structure and ferromagnetism in thin films. Even wafer scale CrTe₂ on sapphire has been grown, along with tuning anomalous Hall response and reducing switching power for spin orbit torque devices. In ZrTe₂/CrTe₂ heterostructures, the authors have observed robust anomalous Hall effect and spin orbit‐torque switching, demonstrating integration potential for 2D spintronic devices. TEP, the voltage under a thermal gradient, has been explored in Bi₂Te₃ and Sb₂Te₃, but these are non-magnetic. Magnetic systems like CrTe₂ introduce tunability via field-driven magneto-thermopower effects such as the Nernst effect. CrTe₂’s intrinsic magnetism and dimensionality make it ideal to study spin–heat transport. Our proposal targets this unexplored space by fabricating epitaxial CrTe₂ films and probing their AMR, PHE, and TEP properties using custom PPMS-based setups. Although these studies confirm high temperature ferromagnetism and domain structure in exfoliated flakes and heterostructures, systematic investigations of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR), planar Hall effect (PHE), and coupled magneto thermopower in epitaxial CrTe₂ thin films remain absent. This literature firmly establishes CrTe₂’s intrinsic in plane magnetic ordering, anisotropic domain behavior, and film growth feasibility, but transport and thermoelectric behaviour under controlled thin‐film conditions, including magneto thermopower coupling, still need exploration. Our proposal directly addresses these gaps by combining meticulous thin‐film growth, angle resolved AMR/PHE, Nernst/Seebeck thermopower, and a PPMS mounted TEP unit, charting new directions in spin–caloritronic applications of 2D magnets.