Fig. 1: Crystal structure of Cr2Te3 thin films.
From: Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride
a Atomistic structure of Cr2Te3 viewed along the crystallographic [210] direction. b Among the three Cr species, Cr1 (red) form sparse honeycombs that are stacked between those of Cr2/Cr3 (purple/blue) with sixfold in-plane symmetry (c). d Enhanced in-plane compressive strain at reduced thickness t, quantified by the relative change of the a lattice parameter via XRD for Cr2Te3 grown on Al2O3(0001) (solid) or SrTiO3(111) (open). f Schematic of the film stacks, where the interfacial strain plays a pivotal role in inducing extraordinary magnetic and transport phenomena. Atomically resolved STM morphology of a 13 × 13 nm2 surface after removing Se capping (e) and planar HAADF STEM image (g) of Cr2Te3 confirm the honeycomb-like Te lattice, where the HAADF intensity line scan reveals the Cr sites (h). i–m Cross-sectional images of Cr2Te3 films grown on SrTiO3(111). The HAADF (i) and iDPC (j) imaging along the [210] zone axis of Cr2Te3 illustrates the dominating Te–Cr2/Cr3–Te layers. The enlarged view (dashed box region in i) of HAADF (k), DPC (l), and iDPC (m) images identify the random distribution of the interlayer Cr1 (circles), which deviates from the ideal Cr2Te3 structure with full occupancy. The color wheel in the DPC image indicates the projected electric field direction.
