  Engineering two-dimensional material heterostructures by combining the best
of different materials in one ultimate unit can offer a plethora of
opportunities in condensed matter physics. Here, in the van der Waals
heterostructures of the ferromagnetic insulator Cr2Ge2Te6 and graphene, our
observations indicate an out-of-plane proximity-induced ferromagnetic exchange
interaction in graphene. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Cr2Ge2Te6
results in significant modification of the spin transport and precession in
graphene, which is ascribed to the proximity-induced exchange interaction.
Furthermore, the observation of a larger lifetime for perpendicular spins in
comparison to the in-plane counterpart suggests the creation of a
proximity-induced anisotropic spin texture in graphene. Our experimental
results and density functional theory calculations open up opportunities for
the realization of proximity-induced magnetic interactions and spin filters in
2D material heterostructures and can form the basic building blocks for future
spintronic and topological quantum devices.
