Electronic and Magnetic Characterization of Epitaxial VSe$_2$ Monolayers on Superconducting NbSe$_2$

Abstract

Vertical integration of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials with different quantum ground states is predicted to lead to novel electronic properties that are not found in the constituent layers. Here, we present the direct synthesis of superconductor-magnet hybrid heterostructures by combining superconducting niobium diselenide (NbSe$_2$) with the monolayer (ML) vanadium diselenide (VSe$_2$). More significantly, the in-situ growth in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) allows to produce a clean and an atomically sharp interfaces. Combining different characterization techniques and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of VSe$_2$ on NbSe$_2$. Low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements demonstrate a reduction of the superconducting gap on VSe$_2$ layer. This together with the lack of charge density wave signatures indicates magnetization of the sheet, but not of a conventional itinerant ferromagnet.