Spin-flip scattering selection in a controlled molecular junction

M. Ormaza; P. Abufager; B. Verlhac; N. Bachellier; M. -L. Bocquet; N. Lorente; L. Limot

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arXiv · 1705.06115

Spin-flip scattering selection in a controlled molecular junction

M. Ormaza·P. Abufager·B. Verlhac·N. Bachellier·M. -L. Bocquet·N. Lorente·L. Limot

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Abstract

A simple double-decker molecule with magnetic anisotropy, nickelocene, is attached to the metallic tip of a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. In the presence of a Cu(100) surface, the conductance around the Fermi energy is governed by spin-flip scattering, the nature of which is determined by the tunneling barrier thickness. The molecular tip exhibits inelastic spin-flip scattering in the tunneling regime, while in the contact regime a Kondo ground state is stabilized causing an order of magnitude change in the zero-bias conductance. First principle calculations show that nickelocene reversibly switches from a spin 1 to 1/2 between the two transport regimes.

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M. Ormaza, P. Abufager, B. Verlhac, N. Bachellier, M. -L. Bocquet, N. Lorente, L. Limot. 2017-05-17. Spin-flip scattering selection in a controlled molecular junction. https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.06115

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