Giant tunnel magnetoresistance in in-plane magnetic tunnel junctions based on the heterointerface-induced half-metallic 2H-VS2

Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) constructed from atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials have attracted great attention in recent years because it meets the requirements of miniaturization and high tunability of next-generation spintronic devices. In this work, we demonstrate that the ferromagnetic semiconductor VS2 2 is transformed into a half-metal in VS2/MoSSe 2 /MoSSe vdW heterostructure. Based on the heterostructure, we design an in-plane MTJs that comprise a monolayer VS2 2 barrier sandwiched between two VS2/MoSSe 2 /MoSSe heterostructure electrodes. Through density functional calculations combined with a nonequilibrium Green's function technique, it is found that the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio as high as 4.35 x 109% 9 % can be achieved. Moreover, the TMR ratio can be tuned by the barrier length, and the maximum value exceeds 1015%. 15 %. These results not only provide a novel route for designing MTJs using 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor material, but also demonstrate the great importance of vdW heterostructures in the design of spintronic devices.