Magnetic Proximity Effects in Iron Germanium Telluride/Platinum Heterostructures

The rapidly growing family of van der Waals magnetic materials has attracted significant attention for applications in spintronic devices, particularly those controlled by spin-orbit torques (SOT). Such devices are typically fabricated by bringing a van der Waals magnet into contact with a spin-charge conversion layer (commonly heavy metals such as platinum) to achieve current-driven magnetization switching. Here, we show that structures fabricated by transferring Fe₅GeTe₂ onto a platinum channel exhibit emergent magnetic properties, which we attribute to magnetic proximity effects at the Fe₅GeTe₂/Pt interface. These changes include enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and additional magnetization reversal steps compared to heterostructures fabricated without platinum, as probed by transport. These findings align well with our previous work, showing similar behavior in Fe₃GeTe₂/platinum heterostructures. Our results indicate that proximity effects in heterostructures involving van der Waals magnets can result in emergent properties and provide a new avenue for magnetic device engineering.