Spin-Phonon interaction in quasi 2D- Cr$_2Te_3$

Abstract

Spin-phonon interaction plays an important role in 2D magnetic materials and motivates the development of next-generation spin- and charge-dependent microelectronic devices. Understanding the spin-phonon interaction by tuning the growth parameter of single crystal Cr$_2Te_3$, a robust quasi-2D room temperature magnetic material, is crucial for spintronic devices. The synthesis of single crystal 2D Cr$_2Te_3$ flakes on a Si substrate from co-deposited thin film by plasma annealing techniques is a significant achievement. The temperature dependence and polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy with support of density functional theory classified lattice symmetry operations were used to identify the phonon modes to investigate the spin/electron-phonon interactions in Cr$_2Te_3$. The mean-field theory model in single crystal Cr$_2Te_3$ is employed to quantify the spin-phonon interaction and correlate with in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic behavior. The observation of a positive correlation between phonon mode frequency and spin-phonon interaction strength in single crystal Cr$_2Te_3$ can be a potential candidate for spintronic applications.