Fig. 1: MBE and characterization of 1T-CrTe₂ thin films.

a Schematics of the 1 T phase of CrTe₂ grown on ZrTe₂. Note that [100], [010], and [001] correspond to \(\left[\bar{1}2\bar{1}0\right]\), \(\left[2\bar{1}\bar{1}0\right]\), and [0001] in the 4 axis Miller–Bravais notation. b RHEED patterns of the single layer of CrTe₂ (12 u.c.) and ZrTe₂ (4 u.c.)/CrTe₂ (12 u.c.) heterostructure. The substrate is sapphire in both cases and the electron beam is directed along the [11\(\bar{2}\)0] orientation of sapphire. c HAADF-STEM images of the ZrTe₂ (4 u.c.)/CrTe₂ (3 u.c.) heterostructure viewed in cross-section. The images have been low-pass filtered for clarity. d STM image of a ZrTe₂ (4 u.c.)/CrTe₂ (1 u.c.) sample. The line scan shows the thickness of the 1 u.c. CrTe₂. e XRD 2\(\theta\) scan of a 12 u.c. CrTe₂ thin film. f XPS spectrum of an 18 u.c. thick CrTe₂ film. The small Te oxide shoulder is due to the absence of a capping layer in this sample. The counts in e and f are in arbitrary units (arb.units.).