ArXiv · 2026
Tyler L. Werner (Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA), Jonathan T. Reichanadter (Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA), Xiang Chen (Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA), Pranab K. Nag (Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA, Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, West Haven, USA), Luna Y. Liu (Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA), Yu-Tsun Shao (School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA, Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA), Hongrui Zhang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA), Mingyang Guo (Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, USA), Wenxin Li (Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA), Zhibo Kang (Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA), Han Wu (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, USA, Rice Center for Quantum Materials, Rice University, Houston, USA), Makoto Hashimoto (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, USA), Donghui Lu (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, USA), Turgut Yilmaz (National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, USA), Elio Vescovo (National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, USA), Sung-Kwan Mo (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA), Barat Achinuq (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA), Alexei Fedorov (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA), Jacob C. Ruff (Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA), Ming Yi (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, USA, Rice Center for Quantum Materials, Rice University, Houston, USA), Qiong Ma (Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, USA, Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, USA), David A. Muller (School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA, Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA), Eduardo H. da Silva Neto (Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA, Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, West Haven, USA), Robert J. Birgeneau (Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA), Jeffrey B. Neaton (Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA, Kavli Energy Nanosciences Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, USA), Yu He (Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, USA)
The discovery of high-temperature ferromagnetism in the metallic van der Waals (vdW) system Fe_NGeTe₂ has brought two-dimensional (2D) magnets into technologically relevant temperature scales. Specifically at N = 5, dilution of magnetic moments by nickel substitution counterintuitively achieves a record high Curie temperature of 478 K. Unraveling the origin of this nickel-substitution-induced enhancement is complicated by the compound's structural complexity, coexistent itinerant and local magnetic contributions, and mesoscopic compositional domains. Through coordinated structural and electronic characterization, we identify that the high-T_C magnetic phase arises from a strain-stabilized Fe₆GeTe₂ nano-precipitate. Combining first-principles calculations and spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we uncover a site-specific electronic landscape in which interior iron atoms primarily host localized moments while the outer iron atoms neighboring the tellurium layers produce spin-polarized itinerant carriers that cross the vdW gap. The large energy cost associated with homogeneous nickel substitution is found to favor the spontaneous precipitation of the crystallographically and electronically ``clean'' high-T_C phase. Finally, we compare metal-rich vdW magnets with binary magnetic alloys, and discuss the unifying roles of nano-precipitates in stabilizing otherwise unattainable bulk phases. Our work provides mechanistic insights into the record-high T_C ferromagnetism in (Fe,Ni)_(5+δ)GeTe₂, establishing a rigorous foundation for the atomic engineering of vdW magnetic metals informed by direct electronic signatures.
