Spin quantum tunneling via entangled states in a dimer of exchange-coupled single-molecule magnets

A new family of supramolecular, antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled dimers of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) has recently been reported. Each SMM acts as a bias on its neighbor, shifting the quantum tunneling resonances of the individual SMMs. Hysteresis loop measurements on a single crystal of SMM dimers have now established quantum tunneling of the magnetization via entangled states of the dimer. This shows that the dimer really does behave as a quantum mechanically coupled dimer, and also allows the measurement of the longitudinal and transverse superexchange coupling constants.     

Spin quantum tunneling in single molecular magnets: fingerprints in transport spectroscopy of current and noise

We demonstrate that transport spectroscopy of single molecular magnets shows signatures of quantum tunneling at low temperatures. We find current and noise oscillations as a function of bias voltage due to a weak violation of spin-selection rules by quantum tunneling processes. The interplay with Boltzmann suppression factors leads to fake resonances with temperature-dependent position which do not correspond to any charge excitation energy. Furthermore, we find that quantum tunneling can completely suppress transport if the transverse anisotropy has a high symmetry.     

Magnetic long-range order induced by quantum relaxation in single-molecule magnets

Can magnetic interactions between single-molecule magnets (SMMs) in a crystal establish long-range magnetic order at low temperatures deep in the quantum regime, where the only electron spin fluctuations are due to incoherent magnetic quantum tunneling (MQT)? Put inversely: can MQT provide the temperature dependent fluctuations needed to destroy the ordered state above some finite T(c), although it should basically itself be a T-independent process? Our experiments on two novel Mn4 SMMs provide a positive answer to the above, showing at the same time that MQT in the SMMs has to involve spin-lattice coupling at a relaxation rate equaling that predicted and observed recently for nuclear-spin-mediated quantum relaxation.     

Coupling single molecule magnets to ferromagnetic substrates

We investigate the interaction of TbPc(2) single molecule magnets (SMMs) with ferromagnetic Ni substrates. Using element-resolved x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, we show that TbPc(2) couples antiferromagnetically to Ni films through ligand-mediated superexchange. This coupling is strongly anisotropic and can be manipulated by doping the interface with electron acceptor or donor atoms. We observe that the relative orientation of the substrate and molecule anisotropy axes critically affects the SMM magnetic behavior. TbPc(2) complexes deposited on perpendicularly magnetized Ni films exhibit enhanced magnetic remanence compared to SMMs in the bulk. Contrary to paramagnetic molecules pinned to a ferromagnetic support layer, we find that TbPc(2) can be magnetized parallel or antiparallel to the substrate, opening the possibility to exploit SMMs in spin valve devices.     

Spin-valley-dependent transport and giant tunneling magnetoresistance in silicene with periodic electromagnetic modulations

The transport property of electrons tunneling through arrays of magnetic and electric barriers is studied in silicene.In the tunneling transmission spectrum, the spin-valley-dependent filtered states can be achieved in an incident energy range which can be controlled by the electric gate voltage. For the parallel magnetization configuration, the transmission is asymmetric with respect to the incident angle θ, and electrons with a very large negative incident angle can always transmit in propagating modes for one of the spin-valley filtered states under a certain electromagnetic condition. But for the antiparallel configuration, the transmission is symmetric about θ and there is no such transmission channel. The difference of the transmission between the two configurations leads to a giant tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) effect.The TMR can reach to 100% in a certain Fermi energy interval around the electrostatic potential. This energy interval can be adjusted significantly by the magnetic field and/or electric gate voltage. The results obtained may be useful for future valleytronic and spintronic applications, as well as magnetoresistance device based on silicene.     

Transport through artificial single-molecule magnets: Spin-pair state sequential tunneling and Kondo effects

The transport properties of an artificial single-molecule magnet based on a CdTe quantum dot doped with a single Mn+2 ion(S=5/2) are investigated by the non-equilibrium Green function method.We consider a minimal model where the Mn-hole exchange coupling is strongly anisotropic so that spin-flip is suppressed and the impurity spin S and a hole spin s entering the quantum dot are coupled into spin pair states with(2S+1) sublevels.In the sequential tunneling regime,the differential conductance exhibits(2S+1) possible peaks,corresponding to resonance tunneling via(2S+1) sublevels.At low temperature,Kondo physics dominates transport and(2S+1) Kondo peaks occur in the local density of states and conductance.These peaks originate from the spin-singlet state formed by the holes in the leads and on the dot via higher-order processes and are related to the parallel and antiparallel spin pair states.     

Manipulating the spin states in a double molecular magnets tunneling junction

We theoretically explore the spin transport through nano-structures consisting of two serially coupled single-molecular magnets (SMM) sandwiched between two nonmagnetic electrodes. We find that the magnetization of SMM can be controlled by the spin transfer torque with respect to the bias voltage direction, and the electron current can be switched on/off in different magnetic structures. Such a manipulation is performed by full electrical manner, and needs neither external magnetic field nor ferromagnetic electrodes in the tunneling junction. The proposal device scheme can be realized with the use of the present technology [6] and has potential applications in molecular spintronics or quantum information processing.     

How do electronic carriers cross Si-bound alkyl monolayers?

Electron transport through Si-C bound alkyl chains, sandwiched between and Hg, is characterized by two distinct types of barriers, each dominating in a different voltage range. At low voltage, the current depends strongly on temperature but not on molecular length, suggesting transport by thermionic emission over a barrier in the Si. At higher voltage, the current decreases exponentially with molecular length, suggesting transport limited by tunneling through the molecules. The tunnel barrier is estimated, from transport and photoemission data, to be approximately 1.5 eV with a 0.25m(e) effective mass.     

Observation of quantum coherence in mesoscopic molecular magnets

By applying a transverse magnetic field B( perpendicular) of sufficient strength to the uniaxial molecular magnets Fe8 and Mn12, the tunneling splitting Delta(t) of their S = +/-10 magnetic ground states can be made large compared to perturbations such as hyperfine and dipolar interactions. We present evidence for such a Delta(t) from magnetic specific heat data below 1 K that is consistent with coherent quantum mechanical tunneling in a "mesoscopic" system under such conditions.     

Nonequilibrium spin accumulation and tunneling magnetoresistance in a ferromagnet/semiconductor/ferromagnet double tunnel junction

Taking into account the nonequilibrium spin accumulation, we apply a quantum-statistical approach to study the spin-polarized transport in a two-dimensional ferromagnet/semiconductor/ferromagnet (FM/SM/FM) double tunnel junction. It is found that the effective spin polarization is raised by increasing the barrier strength, resulting in an enhancement of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). The nonequilibrium spin accumulation in SM may appear in both antiparallel and parallel alignments of magnetizations in two FMs, in particular for high bias voltages. The effects of spin accumulation and TMR on the bias voltage are discussed.     

Time domain capacitance spectroscopy of tunneling electrons in the two-dimensional electron gas

We have developed a technique capable of measuring the tunneling current into both localized and conducting states in a 2D electron system (2DES). The method yields I-V characteristics for tunneling with no distortions arising from low 2D in-plane conductivity. We have used the technique to determine the pseudogap energy spectrum for electron tunneling into and out of a 2D system and, further, we have demonstrated that such tunneling measurements reveal spin relaxation times within the 2DEG. Pseudogap: In a 2DEG in perpendicular magnetic field, a pseudogap develops in the tunneling density of states at the Fermi energy. We resolve a linear energy dependence of this pseudogap at low excitations. The slopes of this linear gap are strongly field dependent. No existing theory predicts the observed behavior. Spin relaxation: We explore the characteristics of equilibrium tunneling of electrons from a 3D electrode into a high mobility 2DES. For most 2D Landau level filling factors, we find that electrons tunnel with a single, well-defined tunneling rate. However, for spin-polarized quantum Hall states (ν=1, 3 and 1/3) tunneling occurs at two distinct rates that differ by up to two orders of magnitude. The dependence of the two rates on temperature and tunnel barrier thickness suggests that slow in-plane spin relaxation creates a bottleneck for tunneling of electrons.     

XMCD of a single layer of single molecule magnets

A detailed report on the X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) investigation of monolayers of Mn12-based single molecule magnets (SMMs) deposited on gold Au(111) is presented. A semi-quantitative analysis of data is provided in order to extract chemical and magnetic information on Mn ions, by comparison with XMCD on bulk samples. This work points that XMCD is a key-tool for the characterization of SMMs-based nanostructured systems. XMCD surface sensitivity and element-specificity will play a fundamental role in the identification of good candidates for SMMs based devices.     

Evidence of the enhanced resonant tunneling effect in a triple-barrier heterostructure

The effect of properly lined-up quantum-well (QW) states, under an external bias, on the electron resonant tunneling is investigated in an InAlAs/InGaAs triple-barrier structure. The degree of alignment of two QW confined ground states at a resonant voltage is analyzed with low-temperature measurement. The experimental data shows the enhanced resonant tunneling effects, and proves that the second QW structure added to the InGaAs/ InAlAs double-barrier heterostructure can act as an effective tool for probing and extracting the resonant tunneling properties deep in a QW.     

Coincidence of checkerboard charge order and antinodal state decoherence in strongly underdoped superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 + delta)

The doping dependence of nanoscale electronic structure in superconducting Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8 + delta) is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. At all dopings, the low energy density-of-states modulations are analyzed according to a simple model of quasiparticle interference and found to be consistent with Fermi-arc superconductivity. The superconducting coherence peaks, ubiquitous in near-optimal tunneling spectra, are destroyed with strong underdoping and a new spectral type appears. Exclusively in regions exhibiting this new spectrum, we find local "checkerboard" charge ordering of high energy states, with a wave vector of Q = (+/- 2pi/4.5a(0),0); (0, +/- 2pi/4.5a(0)) +/- 15%. Surprisingly, this spatial ordering of high energy states coexists harmoniously with the low energy Bogoliubov quasiparticle states.     

Phase dependence of enhanced ionization in asymmetric molecules

We study enhanced ionization (EI) in asymmetric molecules by solving the 3D time-dependent Schr?dinger equation for HeH2+ driven by a few-cycle laser pulse linearly polarized along the molecular axis. We find that EI is much stronger when the laser's carrier-envelope phase is such that the electric field at the peak of the pulse is antiparallel to the permanent dipole of the molecule (PDM). This phase dependence is explained by studying the molecule in the presence of a static electric field. When this field is antiparallel to the PDM, the energy of the dressed ground state moves up (with increasing internuclear distance R) to cross with excited states, leading to a stronger ionization via intermediate state resonances and via tunneling. We predict analytically the laser and molecular parameters at which these crossings are expected to occur in any asymmetric molecule.     

Andreev and single-particle tunneling spectra of underdoped cuprate superconductors

We study tunneling spectroscopy between a normal metal and an underdoped cuprate superconductor modeled by a phenomenological theory in which the pseudogap is a precursor to the undoped Mott insulator. In the low barrier tunneling limit, the spectra are enhanced by Andreev reflection only within a voltage region of the small superconducting energy gap. In the high barrier tunneling limit, the spectra show a large energy pseudogap associated with single particle tunneling. Our theory semiquantitatively describes the two gap behavior observed in tunneling experiments.     

Quantum box resonant tunneling spectroscopy: Experiments and modelisation

We have calculated the potential profile and the electronic levels in resonant tunneling double barrier structures with nanometric lateral dimensions (≤ 500 nm) for various contact doping. At biases for which the box states (laterally confined quantum well) are resonant with the emitter Fermi level, fine structures are expected in the resonant tunneling current. Comparison with I(V) characteristics measured on nanometric GaAs/GaAlAs and GaAs/GaAlAs/InGaAs resonant tunneling diodes shows that our model accounts for the resonance bias voltage and explains the shape of the current peak. The fine structure observed in the current peak provides a spectroscopy of the confined states in the quantum box.     

Tuning of tunneling current noise spectra singularities by localized states charging

We report the results of theoretical investigations of tunneling current noise spectra in a wide range of applied bias voltage. Localized states of individual impurity atoms play an important role in tunneling current noise formation. It was found that switching “on” and “off” of Coulomb interaction of conduction electrons with two charged localized states results in power law singularity of low-frequency tunneling current noise spectrum (1/f ^α) and also results on high frequency component of tunneling current spectra (singular peaks appear). The article is published in the original.     

Magnetotransport in a graphene monolayer with two tunable magnetic barriers

The magnetotransport property for a monolayer graphene with two turnable magnetic barriers has been investigated by the transfer-matrix method. We show that the parameters of barrier height, width, and interval between two barriers affect the electron wave decaying length, which determine the conductance with parallel or antiparallel magnetization configuration, and consequently the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) for the system. Interestingly, a graphene attached by two barriers with different heights can produce a resonant TMR peak at low energy region one order of magnitude larger than that for the system with two same height barriers because that the asymmetry of magnetic barriers block the electron transmission in the case of antiparallel magnetization configuration. The results obtained here may be useful in understanding of electron tunneling in graphene and in designing of graphene-based nanodevices.     

Transport Through a Precessing Spin Coupled to Noncollinearly Polarized Ferromagnetic Leads

The quantum electronic transport through a precessing magnetic spin coupled to noncollinearly polarized ferromagnetic leads （F-MS-F） has been studied in this paper. The nonequilibrium Green function approach is used to calculate local density of states （LDOS） and current in the presence of external bias. The characters of LDOS and the electronic current are obtained. The tunneling current is investigated for different precessing angle and different configurations of the magnetization of the leads. The investigation revea/s that when the precessing angle takes θ 〈 π /2 and negative bias is applied, the resonant tunneling current appears, otherwise, it appears when positive bias is applied. When the leads are totally polarized and the precessing angel takes O, the tunneling current changes with the configuration of two leads; and it becomes zero when the two leads are antiparallel.