- Accepted Paper
Magnetic proximity beyond the interface: Layer-sequence-dependent exchange in WSe/CrI heterostructures
Phys. Rev. Materials - Accepted 21 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3sgj-pdxr
Phys. Rev. Materials - Accepted 21 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3sgj-pdxr
Magnetic proximity effects in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)/2D-magnet heterostructures are often described in terms of the magnetization of the interfacial magnetic layer. Here, we show that this picture is sufficient to describe the neutral-exciton valley splitting of the TMD, but incomplete for its hole-doped electronic structure. We study a gate-tunable van der Waals heterostructure composed of monolayer WSe in direct contact with trilayer CrI. By combining spatially and helicity-resolved reflection-contrast spectroscopy with magnetic circular dichroism, we identify two distinct magnetic domains in the trilayer CrI: one with purely antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling and one with a mixed antiferromagnetic (AFM)/ferromagnetic (FM) coupling. In both domains, the sign of the neutral-exciton valley splitting of WSe switches with the magnetization reversal of the adjacent CrI layer. In contrast, helicity-resolved positive-trion spectroscopy of WSe reveals a qualitatively different response. While the AFM domain shows a strongly helicity-selective trion resonance, the mixed AFM/FM domain exhibits trion resonances in both helicities. This behavior disappears when all CrI layers are aligned in a parallel magnetization direction. Our results demonstrate that the positive-trion response is sensitive to the magnetic configuration of CrI beyond the directly adjacent layer, revealing a magnetic proximity response that cannot be described solely by the interfacial magnetization.
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