Investigation of Complex Magnetic Ordering of Cr₅Te₈

Layered materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been a promising platform for investigating physical properties for many years. Self-intercalation of magnetic transition metals inside the van der Waals (vdW) gaps of the TMDs can alter the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the material, leading to unique materials with properties differing from the base TMD. The self-intercalated compound Cr₅Te₈ (Cr_1.25Te₂) is one such material that exhibits rich magnetic phases. In this work, the typical out-of-plane (OOP) ferromagnetic behavior of Cr₅Te₈  is confirmed; however, two other distinct magnetic phases are measured by method of AC susceptibility. One of the emergent phases exhibits in-plane spin fluctuation at a temperature above the Curie temperature. Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to confirm the structure of this compound as well as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the electronic structure of Cr₅Te₈. Additionally, differential phase contrast (DPC) was employed to provide a real-space mapping of the complex spin structure measured in the magnetic measurements, including the formation of chiral spin structures associated with the emergent phase found below the Curie temperature.