A propagating Majorana mode: Although Majorana fermions remain elusive as elementary particles, their solid-state analogs have been observed in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires. In a nanowire setting, the Majorana states are localized at the ends of the wire. He et al. built a two-dimensional heterostructure in which a one-dimensional Majorana mode is predicted to run along the sample edge (see the Perspective by Pribiag). The heterostructure consisted of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI) bar contacted by a superconductor. The authors used an external magnetic field as a “knob” to tune into a regime where a Majorana mode was propagating along the edge of the QAHI bar covered by the superconductor. A signature of this propagation—half-quantized conductance—was then observed in transport experiments. Science , this issue p. 294 ; see also p. 252

Two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic materials with unique magnetic properties have great potential for next-generation spintronic devices with high flexibility, easy controllability, and high heretointegrability. However, realizing magnetic switching with low power consumption at room temperature is challenging. Here, we demonstrate the room-temperature spin-orbit torque (SOT) driven magnetization switching in an all-van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure using an optimized epitaxial growth approach. The topological insulator Bi₂Te₃ not only raises the Curie temperature of Fe₃GeTe₂ (FGT) through interfacial exchange coupling but also works as a spin current source allowing the FGT to switch at a low current density of ~2.2×10⁶ A/cm². The SOT efficiency is ~2.69, measured at room temperature. The temperature and thickness-dependent SOT efficiency prove that the larger SOT in our system mainly originates from the nontrivial topological origin of the heterostructure. Our experiments enable an all-vdW SOT structure and provides a solid foundation for the implementation of room-temperature all-vdW spintronic devices in the future.

Despite recent advances in exfoliated vdW ferromagnets, the widespread application of 2D magnetism requires a Curie temperature (T_c) above room temperature as well as a stable and controllable magnetic anisotropy. Here we demonstrate a large-scale iron-based vdW material Fe₄GeTe₂ with the T_c reaching ~530 K. We confirmed the high-temperature ferromagnetism by multiple characterizations. Theoretical calculations suggested that the interface-induced right shift of the localized states for unpaired Fe d electrons is the reason for the enhanced T_c, which was confirmed by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Moreover, by precisely tailoring Fe concentration we achieved arbitrary control of magnetic anisotropy between out-of-plane and in-plane without inducing any phase disorders. Our finding sheds light on the high potential of Fe₄GeTe₂ in spintronics, which may open opportunities for room-temperature application of all-vdW spintronic devices.