Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 23: Spin Effects in Molecules at Surfaces (jointly with DS,O)
MA 23.9: Talk
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 11:45–12:00, H23
Single spin-crossover molecules triggered with a STM — •Manuel Gruber1,2, Toshio Miyamachi1, Martin Bowen2, Samy Boukari2, Eric Beaurepaire2, and Wulf Wulfhekel1 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Germany — 2IPCMS (UMR 7504 UdS-CNRS) and Labex NIE, Strasbourg, France
A nano-scale molecular switch can be used to store information in a single molecule. The conductance of the molecule changes when switched and can be electrically detected. Spin crossover (SCO) molecules consisting of organic ligands around a transition metal ion are known to be switchable between a high- and a low-spin state by external stimuli [1]. It is the ultimate aim to achieve combined spin and conduction switching functionality on the level of individual molecules.
Fe(1,10-phenanthroline)2(NCS)2 molecules, SCO complexes, were deposited on Cu(100) and CuN/Cu(100) surfaces and studied with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in ultra-high vacuum at 4K.
Both spin species coexist at low temperatures as deduced from spectroscopic STM data. While on bare Cu(100), the molecules cannot be switched between the two spin states, molecules on CuN can individually and reproducibly be switched between a high-spin, high-conduction state and a low-spin, low-conduction state. This difference is explained by the role of the CuN layer to decouple the molecules from the metallic surface [2].
[1] P. Gütlich et al., Chem. Soc. Rev. 29, 419 (2000). [2] T. Miyamachi et al., Nat. Commun. 3, 938 (2012).