Magnetic proximity in a van der Waals heterostructure of magnetic insulator and graphene

Engineering 2D material heterostructures by combining the best of different materials in one ultimate unit can offer a plethora of opportunities in condensed matter physics. Here, in the van der Waals heterostructures of the ferromagnetic insulator Cr₂Ge₂Te₆ and graphene, our observations indicate an out-of-plane proximity-induced ferromagnetic exchange interaction in graphene. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Cr₂Ge₂Te₆ results in significant modification of the spin transport and precession in graphene, which can be ascribed to the proximity-induced exchange interaction. Furthermore, the observation of a larger lifetime for perpendicular spins in comparison to the in-plane counterpart suggests the creation of a proximity-induced anisotropic spin texture in graphene. Our experimental results and density functional theory calculations open up opportunities for the realization of proximity-induced magnetic interactions and spin filters in 2D material heterostructures and can form the basic building blocks for future spintronic and topological quantum devices.