Raman spectroscopy and lattice dynamical stability study of 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor Cr2Ge2Te6 under high pressure

The layered Cr2Ge2Te6 (CrGT) has captured vast attentions because it is capable of retaining the long-range ferromagnetic order even in its monolayer form, thus offering potential applications in spintronic devices. We report herein the Raman spectra of CrGT under pressure up to 35.1 GPa at room temperature. We observed a structural phase transition at ∼14 GPa as was revealed by a change in pressure derivate frequencies of the Eg3 andAg1 modes. Both of the two peaks became broad and the Ag1 mode eventually disappeared with further increasing the pressure. Raman modes above 26.4 GPa could not be experimentally observed, suggesting that the CrGT was pressed into the amorphous phase. Interestingly, a pressure-induced soft phonon mode is identified in CrGT at ∼23 GPa by dynamical property calculation. The phonon instability at the Brillouin zone boundary T point is suggested as the driving force for the experimentally observed crystalline-to-crystalline phase transition at ∼ 18 GPa. The appearance of soft phonon might indicate the possibility of superconductivity induced by much higher pressure.