Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg , 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
Nano Lett. 2017 Nov 8;17(11):6613-6619. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02481. Epub 2017 Oct 17.
The switching between two spin states makes spin-crossover molecules on surfaces very attractive for potential applications in molecular spintronics. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, the successful deposition of [Fe(pap)] (pap = N-2-pyridylmethylidene-2-hydroxyphenylaminato) molecules on CuN/Cu(100) surface is evidenced. The deposited Fe spin-crossover compound is controllably switched between three different states, each of them exhibiting a characteristic tunneling conductance. The conductance is therefore employed to readily read the state of the molecules. A comparison of the experimental data with the results of density functional theory calculations reveals that all Fe(pap) molecules are initially in their high-spin state. The two other states are compatible with the low-spin state of the molecule but differ with respect to their coupling to the substrate. As a proof of concept, the reversible and selective nature of the switching is used to build a two-molecule memory.
两种自旋态之间的切换使得表面自旋交叉分子在分子自旋电子学中有很大的潜在应用吸引力。使用扫描隧道显微镜，成功地将[Fe(pap)]（pap=N-2-吡啶基甲基亚氨基-2-羟基苯氨基）分子沉积在 CuN/Cu(100)表面上。沉积的 Fe 自旋交叉化合物可以在三种不同的状态之间可控地切换，每种状态都表现出特征性的隧道电导。因此，电导被用来快速读取分子的状态。实验数据与密度泛函理论计算结果的比较表明，所有的 Fe(pap)分子最初都处于高自旋状态。另外两种状态与分子的低自旋状态兼容，但与它们与基底的耦合方式不同。作为概念验证，开关的可逆和选择性被用于构建两个分子的存储器。
