Ferromagnetic Interlayer Exchange Coupling in a Few Layers of CrSBr on a Gold Thin Film

The two-dimensional character of van der Waals magnets allows for efficient control of their properties via proximity effects and electrical stimuli, making them promising candidates for application in spin electronics. We use spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy to directly image the magnetic texture of thin CrSBr on top of a Au film, discovering a ferromagnetic ground state. We argue that the stabilization of the ferromagnetic ordering─as compared to the conventional antiferromagnetic one─is obtained via electron transfer from the Au film to the CrSBr flakes, in agreement with ab initio density functional theory calculations. Reflected-electron spectroscopy shows clear differences in the unoccupied density of states between a few layers of CrSBr on Au and bulk CrSBr, pointing toward electronic band structure modification in thin CrSBr. This work sheds light on the possibility of tuning the magnetic properties of two-dimensional magnets via substrate engineering.