Thickness-Dependent Sign Change of the Magnetoresistance in VTe2 Thin Films

Transition metal dichalcogenides of type VX2 (X = S, Se, Te) have recently attracted great interest as it has been predicted that they host ferromagnetism at room temperature. Whether ferromagnetism is indeed present is an open experimental question. An in-depth study of the structural and magnetoelectric properties of VTe2 thin films is presented in this work. The VTe2 thin films were grown through molecular beam epitaxy, which allows for precise control of thicknesses, ranging from several nanometers down to monolayers. The low-temperature magnetoelectric transport studies reveal no sign of intrinsic ferromagnetism. However, a transition from positive to negative magnetoresistance is present upon decreasing film thickness.