Spin-valley coupling and valley splitting in the MoSi2N4/CrCl3 van der Waals heterostructure

The newly two-dimensional layered materials MA2Z4 (M = Ti/Cr/Mo, A = Si/Ge, Z = N/P/As) possess excellent stability, strong valley-dependent properties, and novel electronic structures. Motivated by recent experimental advances, we have constructed a van der Waals heterostructure consisting of MoSi2N4 and ferromagnetic CrCl3 monolayer and performed first principles calculations to investigate the spin-valley coupling and valley splitting properties. The MoSi2N4/CrCl3 heterostructure is thermally stable at room temperature. Our calculations have shown an enhancement of both valley splitting and valley-contrasting transport properties due to the magnetic proximity effect. Most importantly, the valley-related properties of the MoSi2N4 monolayer are predicated to be rather robust resulting from the protection of the outermost N–Si sublayers. These findings could be helpful to the understanding of the ferromagnetic substrate effect on the valley-dependent properties of MA2Z4-based heterostructures.