Crystallographic Orientation-Dependent Magnetotransport in the Layered Antiferromagnet -- CrSBr

Abstract

Among two-dimensional magnetic materials, CrSBr has attracted considerable attention owing to its coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic ordering, which depends sensitively on crystallographic orientation. An additional distinguishing feature of CrSBr is its highly anisotropic Fermi surface in momentum space. In this work, we present a comprehensive investigation of magnetoresistance by systematically orienting the bias current and the applied magnetic field along all three crystallographic axes. We demonstrate that the magnetoresistance serves as a direct probe of electronic anisotropy, exhibiting pronounced variations when the current is applied along different crystallographic directions under a magnetic field perpendicular to the sample plane. For in-plane magnetic fields, we observe conventional anisotropic magnetoresistance accompanied by hysteresis, indicative of ferromagnetic behavior. Overall, our study provides a complete picture of electronic transport in CrSBr as a function of bias current and magnetic field orientation with respect to crystallographic directions, thereby opening pathways for future experiments requiring high sensitivity of electrical resistance to magnetic field gradients.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: (a) Schematics of the crystal structure of CrSBr. (b) Raman spectrum of a few-layer CrSBr flake. (c) Temperature-dependent susceptibility ($\chi$) at 50 mT applied along the a and b directions of the crystal. (d) Field-dependent magnetization along a and b crystal axes at 60 K. (e) Optical micrograph of the transferred CrSBr flake onto the circular electrodes. False colour is applied to the flake for more visibility. Inset is the scanning electron microscopic image of the circular electrodes. (f) Resistance (R) as a function of temperature (T), and the inset is the zoomed-in region from 250 K to 100 K.
• Figure 2: (a) Angle-resolved magnetoresistance (MR) at 2 K under an out-of-plane magnetic field, where the current is applied along various directions with respect to the crystal axis-a (0$^\circ$); (thickness $\approx$ nm) (b) Angle-dependent |MR| obtained for 2 T. Phenomenological model given by eqn (2) for MR (c) MR versus B$_{\text{out-of-plane}}$ (d) MR versus $\theta$.
• Figure 3: Anisotropic magnetoresistance for different crystal axes with the magnetic field applied in-plane to the sample (thickness $\approx$ 80 nm). Current applied along $a-$axis; (a) B $\perp$ I, (b)B $\parallel$ I. Current along $b-$axis; (c) B $\perp$ I, (d) B $\parallel$ I