Epitaxial growth and electronic properties of an antiferromagnetic semiconducting VI₂ monolayer

The van der Waals materials down to the monolayer (ML) limit provide a fertile platform for exploring low-dimensional magnetism and developing the novel applications of spintronics. Among them, due to the absence of the net magnetic moment, antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials have received much less attention than ferromagnetic ones. Here, by combining scanning tunneling microscopy and state-of-the-art first-principles calculations, we investigate the preparation, and electronic and magnetic properties of a vanadium(II) iodide (VI₂) ML. Single-layer VI₂ has been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Au(111) surfaces. A band gap of 2.8 eV is revealed, indicating the semiconducting nature of the VI₂ ML. Vanadium and iodine vacancy defects give rise to additional feature states within the bandgap. A typical 120° AFM spin ordering is maintained in the ML limit of VI₂, as revealed by the first-principles calculations. Besides, the AFM coupling is greatly enhanced by slightly decreasing lattice constants. Our work provides an ideal platform for further studying two-dimensional magnetism with non-collinear AFM ordering and for investigating the possibility of realizing the spin Hall effect in the ML limit.