English

Magnetic structure in the two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnet Fe$_3$GaTe$_2$

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2026-05-12 v1 Materials Science

Abstract

High-quality single crystals of the two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3_3GaTe2_2 (FGaT) were successfully grown using the chemical vapour transport method, which effectively reduced surface impurities compared with conventional self-flux growth. Structural and magnetic characterizations were performed using single-crystal X-ray and neutron diffraction. The results confirm that FGaT crystallizes in the hexagonal P63/mmcP6_3/mmc structure, with Fe occupying two inequivalent sites (Fei^{i} and Feii^{ii}), where the magnetic moment of Fei^{i} [1.9(2) μB\mu_B] is larger than that of Feii^{ii} [1.4(6) μB\mu_B]. The magnetic easy axis is oriented along the cc axis and the Curie temperature (TCT_C) is approximately 355-360 K. Compared with Fe3_3GeTe2_2 (FGT), FGaT exhibits a slightly expanded aa axis and a contracted cc axis, resulting in a reduction in the Fei^{i}-Feii^{ii} interatomic distance along the cc axis. This pronounced contraction could strengthen the Fe-Fe exchange interaction, which is believed to be the key factor responsible for the significantly higher TCT_C in FGaT relative to FGT.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.09729,
  title  = {Magnetic structure in the two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnet Fe$_3$GaTe$_2$},
  author = {Po-Chun Chang and Sabreen Hammouda and Yung-Hsiang Tung and Yishui Zhou and Iurii Kibalin and Bachir Ouladdiaf and Chao-Hung Du and Yixi Su},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.09729},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

J. Appl. Cryst. (2026)