Effects of the introduction of a chromium oxide monolayer at the C60/Fe(001) interface

Abstract

The introduction of a two-dimensional oxide layer at the interface between an organic semiconductor and a ferromagnetic metal (spinterface) can help in tailoring the formation of spin-polarized hybridized interface states. Here, we consider the case of a Cr 4 O 5 monolayer at the C 60 =Fe(001) interface, which is already known to feature the occurrence of spin-polarized states in the fullerene molecules. In this work, we employ scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and photoemission spectroscopy to show that the C 60 =Cr 4 O 5 =Fe(001) spinterface is characterized by the formation of a well-ordered fullerene monolayer and of strongly hybridized interface states. These experimental results are discussed in terms of state-of-the-art ab initio calculations of the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties at the interface.

Tailoring the magnetic ordering of the Cr4O5/Fe(001) surface via a controlled adsorption of C60 organic molecules

“…Ab initio calculation have been performed in the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT), following the scheme of our previous works [14][15][16].…”

“…In recent works [14][15][16] some of us focused on the C 60 /Fe(001) interface, both on the experimental and theoretical viewpoint. We demonstrated that the induced magnetic properties on the molecules depend on the spin polarization of the substrate states interacting with the molecule itself and by their decay toward vacuum.…”

Molecular spintronics

“…The Molecular Spintronics special topic in the Journal of Applied Physics offers an overview of the most active research areas currently under investigation in the broad field of molecular spintronics. In particular, featured topics include spin readout and manipulation in single-molecule magnets, [16][17][18] hybrid spin states and magnetic coupling at molecule/metal interfaces, [19][20][21][22] spin transport across ultrathin molecular monolayers 23 and molecular films with novel experimental techniques, 24 and novel promising materials for molecular spintronics such as organic radicals. 25,26 A particular emphasis is devoted to single-molecule spintronics for quantum computing, [16][17][18] with two works demonstrating the potential of one among the prototypical single-molecule magnets (TbPc 2 ) as quantum bits.…”

“…19 In their study, they show that the magnetization of an atomically thin Ni film, which points out-of-plane in the case of the pristine film, is switched to in-plane when it is covered by a few monolayers of a paramagnetic molecule. The interface between molecules and an ultrathin molecular layer is the topic of the work by Brambilla and co-workers, 21 who focus on the interface between chromium oxide monolayers and C 60 . In this case, a hybrid state appears with peculiar spin polarization.…”

“…In this case, a hybrid state appears with peculiar spin polarization. 21 These works provide nice examples of how molecular decoration can be employed to modify the intrinsic properties of surfaces and thin films, thereby offering the possibility to generate novel hybrid materials with tailored properties, which might be integrated in spintronic devices.…”