Enhanced Coercivity in Spin–Orbit-Proximitized Cr ₃ Te ₄ Ultrathin Films

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets for spintronic applications require both a high enough Curie temperature ( T C ) and large coercivity. However, while high- T C systems have been intensively explored, achieving robust coercivity remains poorly demonstrated. Here we address this limitation through interfacial spin–orbit proximity effects. We develop vdW heterostructures consisting of an Ising ferromagnet Cr 3 Te 4 and metallic transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with broken in-plane inversion symmetry, including TaSe 2 and NbSe 2, and observe a large enhancement of the coercivity of Cr 3 Te 4 without T C degrading. A comparison between TaSe 2 and NbSe 2 shows a systematic correlation between coercivity enhancement and Zeeman-type spin–orbit interaction (SOI) in the TMDC layer. Furthermore, ion-gating experiments support the continuous tuning of magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin Cr 3 Te 4 with enhanced coercivity. These results suggest that interfacial spin–orbit proximity effects associated with Zeeman SOI provide an effective route for reinforcing magnetic anisotropy in 2D Cr 3 Te 4, providing a design principle for gate-tunable 2D spintronic devices.