Optical Properties of a Chemical Vapor Deposition Grown Single Crystal of Cr₂Te₃

Chromium (III) telluride (Cr₂Te₃) is a novel ferromagnetic material with Curie temperature T_c ≈ 160 K that exhibits half-metallic behavior in few-layers-thick films, making it a promising platform for spin-based quantum technologies and magneto-optical devices. Here we discuss optical properties of high-quality single-crystal flakes of Cr₂Te₃ (~50–100 μm lateral size) synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Optical characterization was carried out using imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry (ISE), which enables us to determine the complex, spatially resolved dielectric function of Cr₂Te₃. The measured spectra exhibit strong absorption in the visible to near-infrared region, with a Drude-like response at low energies, and distinct interband transitions between the Cr 3d and Te 5p orbitals at higher energies. Raman spectroscopy at room temperature identifies prominent vibrational modes at 123.5 ± 0.1 cm⁻¹ and 140.3 ± 0.1 cm⁻¹. Theoretical modeling provides insights into the experimentally obtained features of the optical and Raman spectra of Cr₂Te_3.



Keywords: Cr₂Te₃, Imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry, Dielectric function