Magnetism in two dimensions goes easy-plane

The physics of low-dimensional systems has been a topic of great interest. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibiting long-range magnetic order have been in the spotlight. Using state-of-the art molecular beam epitaxy, we constructed the first large-area 2D ferromagnet - a single CrCl₃ monolayer on Graphene-on-Silicon-Carbide substrate - which exhibits an easy-plane magnetic anisotropy (2D-XY universality class). This discovery offers a suitable platform to observe exotic phenomena with application potential, such as 2D spin superfluidity and topologically protected magnetic textures.