Proximity-magnetized quantum spin Hall insulator: monolayer 1 T' WTe 2 /Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 .
Junxue LiMina RashetniaMark LohmannJahyun KooYouming XuXiao ZhangKenji WatanabeTakashi TaniguchiShuang JiaXi ChenBinghai YanYong-Tao CuiJing ShiPublished in: Nature communications (2022)
Van der Waals heterostructures offer great versatility to tailor unique interactions at the atomically flat interfaces between dissimilar layered materials and induce novel physical phenomena. By bringing monolayer 1 T' WTe 2 , a two-dimensional quantum spin Hall insulator, and few-layer Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 , an insulating ferromagnet, into close proximity in an heterostructure, we introduce a ferromagnetic order in the former via the interfacial exchange interaction. The ferromagnetism in WTe 2 manifests in the anomalous Nernst effect, anomalous Hall effect as well as anisotropic magnetoresistance effect. Using local electrodes, we identify separate transport contributions from the metallic edge and insulating bulk. When driven by an AC current, the second harmonic voltage responses closely resemble the anomalous Nernst responses to AC temperature gradient generated by nonlocal heater, which appear as nonreciprocal signals with respect to the induced magnetization orientation. Our results from different electrodes reveal spin-polarized edge states in the magnetized quantum spin Hall insulator.