Tuning the magnetic anisotropy, Curie temperature, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in the FeCl₂ monolayer

The emergence of magnetic ordering in two-dimensional materials offers unique opportunities for developing novel spintronics devices. However, these materials suffer from low magnetic critical temperature, in-plane anisotropy, and low magnetic anisotropy energy. We will discuss a strategy for the ferromagnetic FeCl₂ monolayer (based on first-principles and Monte Carlo simulations) to enhance the Curie temperature to above room temperature and enhance the magnetic anisotropy energy by nearly three orders of magnitude, which is essential for sustaining long-range magnetic ordering. In addition, we find a non-polar (1T) to polar (1H) structural phase transition and induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, which is crucial for generating chiral magnetic structures such as skyrmions.