Layer-Number-Independent Two-Dimensional Ferromagnetism in CrTe.

In a conventional magnetic material, a long-range magnetic order develops in three dimensions, and reducing a layer number weakens its magnetism. Here we demonstrate anomalous layer-number-independent ferromagnetism down to the two-dimensional (2D) limit in a metastable phase of CrTe. We fabricated CrTe thin films by molecular-beam epitaxy and found that CrTe could host two distinct ferromagnetic phases characterized with different Curie temperatures (). One is the bulk-like "high- phase" showing room-temperature ferromagnetism, which is consistent with previous studies. The other is the metastable "low- phase" with ≈ 160 K, which exhibits a layer-number-independent down to the 2D limit in marked contrast with the conventional high- phase, demonstrating a purely 2D nature of its ferromagnetism. Such significant differences between two distinct phases could be attributed to a small variation in the doping level, making this material attractive for future ultracompact spintronics applications with potential gate-tunable room-temperature 2D ferromagnetism.