Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 1: Towards Molecular Spintronics

DS 1.2: Invited Talk

Monday, February 25, 2008, 10:00–10:30, H 2013

Organic spintronics: can theory play a role? — •Stefano Sanvito — School of Physics and CRANN, Trinity College Dublin, IRELAND

The ability of manipulating electron spins in organic molecular materials offers a new and extremely tantalizing agenda for both spin- and molecular-electronics. This is mainly due to the unquestionable advantage of weak spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions in organic molecules, which leads to the possibility of preserving spin-coherence over long times and distances. Moreover novel experiments with magnetic molecules demonstrate the profound influence of the molecular magnetic degrees of freedom on the transport. Theory can play an important role in this field, since first principles methods allow us to make quantitative predictions without adjustable parameters. In this talk I will overview recent theoretical progress in the field, in particular in the area of spin-phenomena at the single-molecule level.

First I will discuss the feasibility of organic spin-valves. These can exhibit a large bias-dependent magnetoresistance, that can be engineered by an appropriate choice of molecules and anchoring groups. Then, I will turn my attention to magnetic molecules. I will show results for Mn12 sandwiched between magnetic and non-magnetic electrodes and demonstrate the influence of the magnetic spin-state on the transport properties of the device. This is a formidable theoretical challenges since the simulation cells contain more than 1,000 atoms.