Efficient Spin-Flip Excitation of a Nickelocene Molecule

M. ORMAZA; N. BACHELLIER; M. FARAGGI; BENJAMIN VERLHAC; P. ABUFAGER; PHILIPPE OHRESSER; LOÏC JOLY; MICHELANGELO ROMEO; FABRICE SCHEURER; MARIE-LAURE BOCQUET; N. LORENTE; L. LIMOT

NANO LETTERS (PRINT)

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2017

1530-6984

ABSTRACT: Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy(IETS) within the junction of a scanning tunneling microscope(STM) uses current-driven spin-flip excitations for an all-electrical characterization of the spin state of a single object.Usually decoupling layers between the single object, atom ormolecule, and the supporting surface are needed to observethese excitations. Here we study the surface magnetism of asandwich nickelocene molecule (Nc) adsorbed directly onCu(100) by means of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism(XMCD) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations and show with IETS that it exhibits an exceptionally efficient spin-flipexcitation. The molecule preserves its magnetic moment and magnetic anisotropy not only on Cu(100), but also in differentmetallic environments including the tip apex. By taking advantage of this robusteness, we are able to functionalize the microscopetip with a Nc, which can be employed as a portable source of inelastic excitations as exemplified by a double spin-flip excitationprocess.