Ferromagnetism Near Room Temperature in the Cleavable van der Waals Crystal Fe5GeTe2

Two-dimensional materials with intrinsic functionality are becoming increasingly important in exploring fundamental condensed matter science and for developing advanced technologies. Bulk crystals that can be exfoliated are particularly relevant to these pursuits as they provide the opportunity to study the role of physical dimensionality and explore device physics in highly crystalline samples and designer heterostructures in a routine manner. Magnetism is a key element in these endeavors; however, relatively few cleavable materials are magnetic and none possess magnetic order at ambient conditions. Here, we introduce Fe5–x GeTe2 as a cleavable material with ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. We established intrinsic magnetic order at room temperature in bulk crystals ( T C = 310 K) through magnetization measurements and in exfoliated, thin flakes ( T C ≈ 280 K) using the anomalous Hall effect. Our work reveals Fe5GeTe2 as a prime candidate for incorporating intrinsic magnetism into functional van der Waals heterostructures and devices near room temperature.