Air-stable van der Waals PtTe(2) conductors with high current-carrying capacity and strong spin-orbit interaction

High-performance van der Waals (vdW) integrated electronics and spintronics require reliable current-carrying capacity. However, it is challenging to achieve high current density and air-stable performance using vdW metals owing to the fast electrical breakdown triggered by defects or oxidation. Here, we report that spin-orbit interacted synthetic PtTe(2) layers exhibit significant electrical reliability and robustness in ambient air. The 4-nm-thick PtTe(2) synthesized at a low temperature (∼400°C) shows intrinsic metallic transport behavior and a weak antilocalization effect attributed to the strong spin-orbit scattering. Remarkably, PtTe(2) sustains a high current density approaching ≈31.5 MA cm(−2), which is the highest value among electrical interconnect candidates under oxygen exposure. Electrical failure is caused by the Joule heating of PtTe(2) rather than defect-induced electromigration, which was achievable by the native TeO(x) passivation. The high-quality growth of PtTe(2) and the investigation of its transport behaviors lay out essential foundations for the development of emerging vdW spin-orbitronics.