IISc Researchers Report Centimetre-Scale Growth of 2D Magnetic CrCl₃ Using Physical Vapour Transport Deposition

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a method to grow high-quality 2D magnetic materials over centimetre-scale wafers. Previous approaches were limited to micrometre-sized flakes. The materials retain their magnetism at the single atomic layer scale and are used in electronics and spintronics applications such as hard drives and sensors.

Mechanical exfoliation, which involves peeling layers from bulk 2D magnetic materials, is suitable only for research purposes and not for technological integration. Scalable fabrication requires growth over large areas, typically through vapour deposition methods in which precursor vapours are passed over a hot substrate surface, where they rearrange atomically to form a thin layer. Wafer-scale production of 2D magnetic materials has been difficult because small imperfections during growth can disrupt the atomic structure and magnetic properties.

In a study published in *Advanced Materials*, Akshay Singh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at IISc, and his team grew chromium chloride (CrCl₃) as a representative 2D magnetic material with specific magnetic ordering. They employed Physical Vapour Transport Deposition (PVTD), a technique in which the material is heated until it vapourises, then tra...