Terrace-Edge-Induced Domain Nucleation in Room-Temperature 2D Magnetic Van Der Waals Heterostructures

Abstract

Terrace-edges, which are step-like height discontinuities formed during layer stacking or exfoliation, can locally modify magnetic characteristics. Magnetic domain behavior and its structural dependence in a 2D van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure composed of two distinct room-temperature ferromagnets: Fe3GaTe2, an intrinsic vdW ferromagnet, and vanadium-doped WSe2, a transition metal dichalcogenide exhibiting defect-induced magnetism, is investigated. Using magnetic transmission X-ray microscopy, the formation and annihilation of magnetic domains are directly observed and it is found that domains preferentially form at terrace-edges of the heterostructure. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that in-plane magnetization tilting near the terrace-edge results in a localized maximum in total magnetic energy that promotes domain formation. The findings highlight the significant role of structural edge features and interfacial magnetic interactions in determining domain formation in hybrid 2D vdW magnetic systems, offering a new route to spatially controlled magnetization at room temperature.