Controlling magnetic moments of single molecular magnets via interlayer magnetic interaction

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H01803
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 29020:Thin film/surface and interfacial physical properties-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Oka Hirofumi 東北大学, 材料科学高等研究所, 助教 (70374600)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 米田 忠弘 東北大学, 多元物質科学研究所, 教授 (30312234)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 層間磁気結合 / 単分子磁石 / スピン偏極STM

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Goal of this project is to establish the way to controlling the magnetic interaction between single magnetic molecules and magnetic substrates via interlayer exchange coupling, which has been often utilized in ferromagnetic/non-magnetic/ferromagnetic metal multilayers. Our idea is to turn the magnetic interaction by inserting Au interlayers between magnetic molecules TbPc2 and ferromagnetic Co islands and investigate the resulting change in the magnetic interaction with spin-polarized STM. We found that bilayer Co islands were regularly formed at “elbow” sites of Au(111) herringbone structure and the Co islands were covered with Au deposited afterwards. The thickness of the Au layer covering the Co islands changed with the amount of deposited Au. However, the size of the Co islands at the elbows was not large enough to realize a single-TbPc2/Au/Co structure since TbPc2 on Au is too mobile at room temperature to stay at Au/Co.

Free Research Field

表面電子物性

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

「単分子磁石」と基板との間に働く磁気結合の強さを制御することは、単分子磁石の磁気モーメントの方向の固定・制御を可能にするため、分子に働く磁気的相互作用の解明という学術的な興味だけでなく単分子磁石を利用した分子スピントロニクスデバイスの創出に向けて重要な課題である。本研究によって、単分子磁石上で観測されていた近藤共鳴ピークが、強磁性基板に非磁性金属を介して近接することにより消失することがわかった。今後は、近藤共鳴ピークの消失と分子に働く磁気的相互作用の関連について検討を進めていく。