Observation of nonreciprocal magnetophonon effect in nonencapsulated few-layered CrI3

Magneto-optical effect refers to a rotation of polarization plane, which has been widely studied in traditional ferromagnetic metal and insulator films and scarcely in two-dimensional layered materials. Here, we uncover a new nonreciprocal magnetophonon Raman scattering effect in ferromagnetic few-layer CrI3. We observed a rotation of the polarization plane of inelastically scattered light between -20 degrees and +60 degrees that are tunable by an out-of-plane magnetic field from -2.5 to 2.5 T. It is experimentally observed that the degree of polarization can be magnetically manipulated between -20 and 85%. This work raises a new magneto-optical phenomenon and could create opportunities of applying two-dimensional ferromagnetic materials in Raman lasing, topological photonics, and magneto-optical modulator for information transport and storage.