High-pressure behavior of the local atomic structure in 2D ferromagnet Fe3GeTe2

Two dimensional ferromagnets have been discovered which consists of layered van der Waals systems. They allow tuning material properties to greater extent compared to the classical 3D ferromagnets. They have potential applications in spintronics and electronic devices. Only few vdW ferromagnet exists, among them Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) has a superior Tc (220 K bulk). The features of these vdW interactions can be modulated, being the key to control the coupling between inter-layer properties. This mechanism, the change of vdW features under different conditions, its effect on the physical properties are still poorly understood. We propose to study the inter-layer interactions and local environment at Fe and Ge using XAS under extreme condition. XAS is a method to depict changes at the atomic level as a function of external parameters (P, T). The new knowledge on the local atomic structure in FGT as a function of P and T will allow a better shaping of materials for industrial applications.