Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in Fe5GeTe2 epitaxial thin films

Abstract

Van der Waals ferromagnets, such as Fe5GeTe2, offer a promising platform for spintronic devices based on chiral magnetic textures, provided a significant Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) can be induced to stabilise the textures. Here, we directly measure DMI in epitaxial Fe5GeTe2 thin films using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy and observe a consistent DMI (D=0.04 mJ/m2) across various thicknesses. Its weak thickness dependence, combined with the nominally symmetric film interfaces, suggests a bulk origin. Although we do not determine the microscopic mechanism, our findings are compatible with ab initio calculations linking DMI to partial ordering of Fe split sites. Additionally, we find a low magnetic dissipation (alpha<0.02). The observed DMI, which could be further enhanced by optimising the Fe site ordering, combined with low dissipation, makes Fe5GeTe2 a strong candidate for exploring the dynamics of chiral magnetic textures in two-dimensional materials.