Magnetic proximity effect as a pathway to spintronic applications of topological insulators

Nano Lett. 2011 Oct 12;11(10):4079-82. doi: 10.1021/nl201275q. Epub 2011 Sep 9.

Abstract

Spin-based electronics in topological insulators (TIs) is favored by the long spin coherence(1,2) and consequently fault-tolerant information storage. Magnetically doped TIs are ferromagnetic up to 13 K,(3) well below any practical operating condition. Here we demonstrate that the long-range ferromagnetism at ambient temperature can be induced in Bi(2-x)Mn(x)Te(3) by the magnetic proximity effect through deposited Fe overlayer. This result opens a new path to interface-controlled ferromagnetism in TI-based spintronic devices.