Pressure-driven magnetic phase change in the CrI/BrCrI heterostructure.

Vertically stacked van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures not only provide a promising platform in terms of band alignment, but also constitute fertile ground for fundamental science and attract tremendous practical interest towards their use in various device applications. Beyond most two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are intrinsically non-magnetic, CrI is a novel material with magnetism dependent on its vdW-bonded layers, promising potential spintronics applications. However, for particular device applications, a heterostructure is commonly fabricated and it is necessary to examine the effect of the interface or contact atoms on the magnetic properties of the heterostructure.