Large magnetic anisotropy in Fe_xTaS₂ single crystals

In intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide $Fe_xTaS_2$ (0.2 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 0.4) single crystals, large magnetic anisotropy is observed. Transport property measurements indicate that heavy Fe-doping leads to a large anisotropy of resistivity ($\rho$$_{c}$/$\rho$$_{ab}$). A sharp M-H hysteresis curve is observed with magnetic field along c-axis, while a linear magnetization appears with magnetic field applied in the ab-plane. The angular dependent magnetic susceptibility from in-plane to out-of-plane indicates that magnetic moments are strongly pinned along the c-axis in an unconventional manner and the coercive field reaches as large as 6 T at T = 5 K. First-principles calculation clearly suggests that the strong spin-orbital coupling give rise to such a large anisotropy of magnetism. The strong pinning effect of magnetic moments along c-axis makes this material a very promising candidate for the development of spin-aligner in spintronics devices.