Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 33: Molecular Spintronics - Current Status and Challenges II (Focused Session)

DS 33.1: Topical Talk

Thursday, March 25, 2010, 15:00–15:30, H2

Spin-dependent tunneling through a single molecule with intramolecular resolution — •Roland Wiesendanger — Institut für Angewandte Physik und Interdisziplinäres Nanowissenschafts-Centrum Hamburg, Universität Hamburg, D-20355 Hamburg, wiesendanger@physnet.uni-hamburg.de, www.nanoscience.de

Molecular spintronics based on the injection, transport, and detection of spin currents through a single magnetic molecule opens up fascinating perspectives for future nanoscale storage or logic devices. Progress in this exciting field of research depends on a detailed characterization of the electrode-molecule interface at high spatial resolution. We have applied spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) and spectroscopy (SP-STS) [1] to study the energy- and spin-dependent tunneling through individual phthalocyanine molecules as function of their orientation with respect to the substrate lattice and as function of the magnetization states of substrate and SP-STM tip. Interestingly, a strong spin-dependent intramolecular contrast is observed related with a significant difference in spin-dependent current flow through the central metal ion and the surrounding ligands. Our experimental results are in good agreement with first-principles calculations including the van-der Waals interaction between molecule and substrate.

[1] R. Wiesendanger, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1495 (2009).