Tunable Magnetic Anisotropy and Curie Temperature in Cr_1+<i>δ</i>Te₂ Thin Films

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials have recently attracted interest for potential use in spintronic applications. The magnetic transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) Cr_1+δTe₂ is a promising candidate to host novel magnetic phases, but systematic control of the anisotropy and thermal stability remains a challenge. In this work, we demonstrate tunable magnetic anisotropy and Curie temperature (T_C) in epitaxial Cr_1+δTe₂ films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Post-deposition annealing temperature is used to smoothly alter δ, the fraction of Cr atoms self-intercalated between neighboring CrTe₂ layers. Increasing δ results in monotonic enhancement of T_C from 160 to 350 K and the rotation of magnetic anisotropy from out-of-plane to in-plane easy-axis configuration for fixed film thickness. This novel control of magnetism opens up pathways for realizing future spintronic devices.