Spin-polarized STM Study of Cr2Te3 Thin Films

The topological Hall Effect (THE) is the manifestation of an effective magnetic field experienced by electrons interacting with a spatially-varying, non-coplanar spin texture. Studies over the past decade have demonstrated the robust presence of this effect – generally understood to be an indicator of an interfacial skyrmion lattice - in heavy metal/ferromagnet heterostructures which exhibit strong interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. Recent evidence also suggests the presence of a THE in quasi-2D thin film transition metal chalcogenides such as Cr2Te3. We report the results of our study of the latter using low-temperature, spin-polarized STM to complement previously performed transport measurements.