Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 45: Poster Spins on Surfaces at the Atomic Scale
O 45.1: Poster
Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 18:00–20:00, P2
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy of YbPc2 Molecules — •Jonas Arnold1, Kwan Ho Au-Yeung1, Wantong Huang1, Paul Greule1, Christoph Sürgers1, Wofgang Wernsdorfer1, Mario Ruben2, and Philip Willke1 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany — 2Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
Individual molecules constitute excellent building blocks for quantum technologies thanks to their small size, reproducibility and the benefit of self assembly. A promising class are rare-earth bis-phythalocyanine complexes [1]. In this investigation, YbPc2 molecules are studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) to identify potential indicators of a magnetic signature. In the gas phase, the YbPc2 molecule is expected to exhibit a radical spin localized at its ligands as well as an f-shell electron spin S = 1/2 and a nuclear spin (I = 1/2 and 5/2) for certain isotopes. Thus, this system is a potential candidate for a spin cascade [1]. We perform measurements on self-assembled multi-layer islands of YbPc2 on Ag(100) that reveal distinct orbital features which vary for the first, second and third molecular layer. Similarly, the orbital signatures change when introducing a thin dielectric decoupling layer of MgO between the molecule islands and the electron bath. We discuss these results in the context of charge transfer between the molecular film and the underlying substrate [2]. [1] Wernsdorfer, W. et al., Advanced Materials 31, 1806687 (2019). [2] Hollerer, M. et al., ACS nano 11, 6252-6260 (2017).
Keywords: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy; Molecules; Insulating thin films; Surface spins