Topological Hall effect in graphene/Fe₃GeTe₂ van der Waals heterostructures

The recent discovery of long-range magnetic order in atomically thin van der Waals (vdW) materials provides a platform to utilize two-dimensional magnetism for diverse functionalities and applications. Assembling a layered magnet with other vdW magnetic/non-magnetic materials could be used to discover several physical phenomena such as exchange bias effect, spin Hall Effect, magnetic proximity, etc. Probing magnetic proximity in graphene could provide an efficient way to utilize the unique properties of graphene in spintronics applications. Here, we experimentally investigate the magnetic proximity in graphene/Fe₃GeTe₂ vdW heterostructures probed by anomalous Hall measurements. Transverse magnetoresistance data shows the signatures of the topological Hall Effect, which is driven by non-coplanar spin texture at the graphene/Fe₃GeTe₂ interface. This can be explained by the interplay between symmetric exchange and antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction due to Rashba type spin-orbit coupling at the interface. Further, the stability of non-coplanar spin texture at the graphene/Fe₃GeTe₂ interface has been discussed in the framework of temperature-dependent magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy.