Magnetic Entropy Scaling in Ferromagnetic Semiconductor CrGeTe₃

The magnetocaloric effect and the magnetic entropy (ΔS_M(T,H)) scaling around the magnetic transition temperature (T_C) have been investigated in two-dimensional ferromagnetic semiconductor (2D FS) CrGeTe₃ single crystal. The ΔS_M(T,H) and the relative cooling power (RCP) are about 3.21 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ and 94.3 J kg⁻¹ under applied magnetic field H = 4.5 T, respectively. The ΔS_M(T,H) under different magnetic fields can be scaled into a single curve independent of external field and temperature. Meanwhile, it has been found that ΔS_M(T,H) follows the power law of Hⁿ with n(T,H) = dln|SΔ_M(T,H)|/dln(H). Critical parameters n, l, and m have been obtained based on ΔS_M(T,H). It has been found that the temperature-dependent n at different magnetic fields scales into one universal line above T_C, deviating from the scaling line at low temperature. This deviation can be attributed to the strong uniaxial anisotropy effect in CrGeTe₃. This work figures out the magnetocaloric behavior of CrGeTe₃, and will be helpful for understanding the origin of the ferromagnetism of similar 2D FSs.