Raman fingerprint of two terahertz spin wave branches in a two-dimensional honeycomb Ising ferromagnet

Wencan Jin, Hyun Ho Kim, Zhipeng Ye, Siwen Li, Pouyan Rezaie, Fabian Diaz, Saad Siddiq, Eric Wauer, Bowen Yang, Chenghe Li, Shangjie Tian, Kai Sun, Hechang Lei, Adam W. Tsen, Liuyan Zhao, Rui He

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

98 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetism has been long sought-after and only very recently realized in atomic crystals of magnetic van der Waals materials. So far, a comprehensive understanding of the magnetic excitations in such 2D magnets remains missing. Here we report polarized micro-Raman spectroscopy studies on a 2D honeycomb ferromagnet CrI3. We show the definitive evidence of two sets of zero-momentum spin waves at frequencies of 2.28 terahertz (THz) and 3.75 THz, respectively, that are three orders of magnitude higher than those of conventional ferromagnets. By tracking the thickness dependence of both spin waves, we reveal that both are surface spin waves with lifetimes an order of magnitude longer than their temporal periods. Our results of two branches of high-frequency, long-lived surface spin waves in 2D CrI3 demonstrate intriguing spin dynamics and intricate interplay with fluctuations in the 2D limit, thus opening up opportunities for ultrafast spintronics incorporating 2D magnets.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5122
JournalNature Communications
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018

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