Preparation of Atomically Clean van der Waals Based WTe₂/FGT Heterostructures for Spin-Orbit Torque Switching Studies

Layered materials with low-symmetry crystal structure, such as WTe₂ and MoTe₂, are energy efficient spin source materials for spintronics-based memory and logic devices. An atomically sharp interface in non-magnetic/magnetic bilayer structures, routinely used in spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching devices, is essential to suppress the spin dephasing at the interfaces and subsequently enhance the SOT efficiency for spintronics applications. We will present experimental results showing the fabrication of SOT switching devices constructed out of vdW based heterostructures of WTe₂ and Fe₃GeTe₂ (FGT) with atomically clean interfaces. Furthermore, we will present our SOT switching experiments that are aimed at demonstrating an efficient and field-free magnetization switching of FGT, which is a layered 2D magnet with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Our work is the first step towards realizing all-vdW based spintronic devices that are ultra-thin and need ultra-low power consumption for its operation.