Pressure-Enhanced Ferromagnetism in Layered CrSiTe3 Flakes

Despite recent advances in layered ferromagnets, ferromagnetic interactions in these materials are rather weak. Here, we report pressure-enhanced ferromagnetism in layered CrSiTe3 flakes revealed by high-pressure magnetic circular dichroism measurements. Below similar to 3 GPa, CrSiTe3 undergoes a paramagnetic-toferromagnetic phase transition at similar to 32 K, and the field-induced spin-flip in the ferromagnetic phase produces nearly zero hysteresis loops, demonstrating soft ferromagnetism. Above similar to 4 GPa, a soft-to- hard ferromagnetic transition occurs, signaled by rectangular-shaped hysteresis loops with finite coercivity and remanent magnetization. Interestingly, as pressure increases, the Curie temperature and coercivity dramatically increase up to similar to 138 K and 0.17 T at 7.8 GPa, respectively, in contrast to similar to 36 K and 0.02 T at 4.6 GPa. It indicates a remarkable influence of pressure on exchange interactions, which is consistent with DFT calculations. The effective interaction between magnetic couplings and external pressure offers new opportunities in pursuit of high-temperature layered ferromagnets.