Dr.thedudeman

Nature Nanotechnology 10, 40 (2015). doi:10.1038/nnano.2014.281

Authors: Shichao Yan, Deung-Jang Choi, Jacob A. J. Burgess, Steffen Rolf-Pissarczyk & Sebastian Loth

Mixing of discretized states in quantum magnets has a radical impact on their properties. Managing this effect is key for spintronics in the quantum limit. Magnetic fields can modify state mixing and, for example, mitigate destabilizing effects in single-molecule magnets. The exchange bias field has been proposed as a mechanism for localized control of individual nanomagnets. Here, we demonstrate that exchange coupling with the magnetic tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope provides continuous tuning of spin state mixing in an individual nanomagnet. By directly measuring spin relaxation time with electronic pump–probe spectroscopy, we find that the exchange interaction acts analogously to a local magnetic field that can be applied to a specific atom. It can be tuned in strength by up to several tesla and cancel external magnetic fields, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of complete control over individual quantum magnets with atomically localized exchange coupling.

Deterministic switching of ferromagnetism at room temperature using an electric field

Nature 516, 7531 (2014). doi:10.1038/nature14004

Authors: J. T. Heron, J. L. Bosse, Q. He, Y. Gao, M. Trassin, L. Ye, J. D. Clarkson, C. Wang, Jian Liu, S. Salahuddin, D. C. Ralph, D. G. Schlom, J. Íñiguez, B. D. Huey & R. Ramesh

The technological appeal of multiferroics is the ability to control magnetism with electric field. For devices to be useful, such control must be achieved at room temperature. The only single-phase multiferroic material exhibiting unambiguous magnetoelectric coupling at room temperature is BiFeO3 (refs 4 and 5). Its weak ferromagnetism arises from the canting of the antiferromagnetically aligned spins by the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) interaction. Prior theory considered the symmetry of the thermodynamic ground state and concluded that direct 180-degree switching of the DM vector by the ferroelectric polarization was forbidden. Instead, we examined the kinetics of the switching process, something not considered previously in theoretical work. Here we show a deterministic reversal of the DM vector and canted moment using an electric field at room temperature. First-principles calculations reveal that the switching kinetics favours a two-step switching process. In each step the DM vector and polarization are coupled and 180-degree deterministic switching of magnetization hence becomes possible, in agreement with experimental observation. We exploit this switching to demonstrate energy-efficient control of a spin-valve device at room temperature. The energy per unit area required is approximately an order of magnitude less than that needed for spin-transfer torque switching. Given that the DM interaction is fundamental to single-phase multiferroics and magnetoelectrics, our results suggest ways to engineer magnetoelectric switching and tailor technologically pertinent functionality for nanometre-scale, low-energy-consumption, non-volatile magnetoelectronics.

Molecular beam epitaxy is used to grow TiSe2 ultrathin films on graphitized SiC(0001) substrate. TiSe2films proceed via a nearly layer-by-layer growth mode and exhibit two dominant types of defects, identified as Se vacancy and interstitial, respectively. By means of scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrate that the well-established charge density waves can survive in single unit-cell (one triple layer) regime, and find a gradual reduction in their correlation length as the density of surface defects in TiSe2 ultrathin films increases. Our findings offer important insights into the nature of charge density wave in TiSe2, and also pave a material foundation for potential applications based on the collective electronic states.

By introducing a comprehensive form of scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we show that detailed electronic structures, in particular the critical point energies and their origins in the Brillouin Zone (BZ) can be mapped out in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). This new capability allows us to gain new insights on how electronic structures of TMDs are influenced by the coupling between atomic orbitals, by the spin-orbital couplings, and by the interlayer couplings. We determine quantitatively how such couplings change the critical point energy locations which ultimately determine the electronic and optical properties. For example, contrary to all other SL-TMDs where the conduction band minimum (CBM) and valence band maximum occur at K, in $SL-WSe_2$ CBM occurs at lambda, leading to an indirect gap. Other detailed electronic structures are also determined. These new insights should have profound implications in the technological advancement of TMDs as the emerging 2D electronics and photonics materials.

The interaction between the endohedral unit in the single-molecule magnet Dy$_2$ScN@C$_{80}$ and a rhodium (111) substrate leads to alignment of the Dy 4$f$ orbitals. The resulting orientation of the Dy$_2$ScN plane parallel to the surface is inferred from comparison of the angular anisotropy of x-ray absorption spectra and multiplet calculations in the corresponding ligand field. The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) is also angle dependent and signals strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy. This directly relates geometric and magnetic structure. Element specific magnetization curves from different coverages exhibit hysteresis at a sample temperature of $\sim4$ K. From the measured hysteresis curves we estimate the zero field remanence life-time during x-ray exposure of a sub-monolayer to be about 30 seconds.

Hybrid organic/inorganic interfaces have been widely reported to host emergent properties that go beyond those of their single constituents. Coupling molecules to the recently discovered topological insulators, which possess a linearly dispersing and spin-momentum--locked Dirac fermions, may offer a promising platform towards new functionalities. Here, we report a scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study of the prototypical interface between MnPc molecules and a Bi$_2$Te$_3$ surface. MnPc is found to bind stably to the substrate through its central Mn atom. The adsorption process is only accompanied with a minor charge transfer across the interface, resulting in a moderately n-doped Bi$_2$Te$_3$ surface. More remarkably, topological states remain completely unaffected by the presence of the molecules, as evidenced by the absence of scattering patterns around adsorption sites. Interestingly, we show that, while the HOMO and LUMO orbitals closely resembles those of MnPc in the gas phase, a new hybrid states emerges through interaction with the substrate. Our results pave the way towards hybrid organic--topological insulator heterostructures, which may unveil a broad range of exciting and unknown phenomena.

Author(s): Sampsa K. Hämäläinen, Nadine van der Heijden, Joost van der Lit, Stephan den Hartog, Peter Liljeroth, and Ingmar Swart

Intermolecular features in atomic force microscopy images of organic molecules have been ascribed to intermolecular bonds. A recent theoretical study [P. Hapala et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 085421 (2014)] showed that these features can also be explained by the flexibility of molecule-terminated tips. We...

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 186102] Published Fri Oct 31, 2014

Author(s): A. Eich, M. Michiardi, G. Bihlmayer, X.-G. Zhu, J.-L. Mi, Bo B. Iversen, R. Wiesendanger, Ph. Hofmann, A. A. Khajetoorians, and J. Wiebe

The band structure and intra- and interband scattering processes of the electrons at the surface of a bismuth bilayer on Bi2Se3 have been experimentally investigated by low-temperature Fourier-transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The observed complex quasiparticle interference patterns are com...

[Phys. Rev. B 90, 155414] Published Wed Oct 08, 2014

Author(s): Violeta Iancu, Kai-Felix Braun, Koen Schouteden, and Chris Van Haesendonck

We report on in situ chemical reactions between an organic trimesic acid (TMA) ligand and a Co atom center. By varying the substrate temperature, we are able to explore the Co–TMA interactions and create novel magnetic complexes that preserve the chemical structure of the ligands. Using scanning tun...

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 106102] Published Wed Sep 03, 2014

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy reveals the magnetic ordering of a strongly correlated material. Authors: Mostafa Enayat, Zhixiang Sun, Udai Raj Singh, Ramakrishna Aluru, Stefan Schmaus, Alexander Yaresko, Yong Liu, Chengtian Lin, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Joachim Deisenhofer, Peter Wahl

Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat4018

Authors: A. Spinelli, B. Bryant, F. Delgado, J. Fernández-Rossier & A. F. Otte

The spin dynamics of all ferromagnetic materials are governed by two types of collective phenomenon: spin waves and domain walls. The fundamental processes underlying these collective modes, such as exchange interactions and magnetic anisotropy, all originate at the atomic scale. However, conventional probing techniques based on neutron and photon scattering provide high resolution in reciprocal space, and thereby poor spatial resolution. Here we present direct imaging of standing spin waves in individual chains of ferromagnetically coupled S  =  2 Fe atoms, assembled one by one on a Cu2N surface using a scanning tunnelling microscope. We are able to map the spin dynamics of these designer nanomagnets with atomic resolution in two complementary ways. First, atom-to-atom variations of the amplitude of the quantized spin-wave excitations are probed using inelastic electron tunnelling spectroscopy. Second, we observe slow stochastic switching between two opposite magnetization states, whose rate varies strongly depending on the location of the tip along the chain. Our observations, combined with model calculations, reveal that switches of the chain are initiated by a spin-wave excited state that has its antinodes at the edges of the chain, followed by a domain wall shifting through the chain from one end to the other. This approach opens the way towards atomic-scale imaging of other types of spin excitation, such as spinon pairs and fractional end-states, in engineered spin chains.

Author(s): Fabian Schulz, Robert Drost, Sampsa K. Hämäläinen, Thomas Demonchaux, Ari P. Seitsonen, and Peter Liljeroth

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a prominent member in the growing family of two-dimensional materials with potential applications ranging from being an atomically smooth support for other two-dimensional materials to templating growth of molecular layers. We have studied the structure of monolayer...

[Phys. Rev. B 89, 235429] Published Mon Jun 23, 2014

Author(s): Marco Taucer, Lucian Livadaru, Paul G. Piva, Roshan Achal, Hatem Labidi, Jason L. Pitters, and Robert A. Wolkow

Here we report the direct observation of single electron charging of a single atomic dangling bond (DB) on the H-Si(100)-2×1 surface. The tip of a scanning tunneling microscope is placed adjacent to the DB to serve as a single-electron sensitive charge detector. Three distinct charge states of the d...

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 256801] Published Thu Jun 26, 2014

Access to magnetic excitation spectra of single atoms deposited on surfaces is nowadays possible by means of low-temperature inelastic scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We present a first-principles method for the calculation of inelastic tunneling spectra utilizing the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green function method combined with time-dependent density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory. The key quantity is the electron self-energy describing the coupling of the electrons to the spin excitation within the adsorbate. By investigating Cr, Mn, Fe and Co adatoms on a Cu(111) substrate, we spin-characterize the spectra and demonstrate that their shapes are altered by the magnetization of the adatoms, of the tip and the orbital decay into vacuum. Our method also predicts spectral features more complex than the steps obtained by simpler models for the adsorbate (e.g., localized spin models).

The electronic and magnetic properties of Mn coordinated to 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene (TCNB) in the Mn-TCNB 2D metal-ligand networks have been investigated by combining scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) performed at low temperature (3 K). When formed on Au(111) and Ag(111) substrates the Mn-TCNB networks display similar geometric structures. Magnetization curves reveal ferromagnetic (FM) coupling of the Mn sites with similar single-ion anisotropy energies, but different coupling constants. Low-temperature XMCD spectra show that the local environment of the Mn centers differs appreciably for the two substrates. Multiplet structure calculations were used to derive the corresponding ligand field parameters confirming an in-plane uniaxial anisotropy. The observed interatomic coupling is discussed in terms of superexchange as well as substrate-mediated magnetic interactions.

An elusive symmetry is predicted to emerge at the boundary of an exotic condensed matter system. Authors: Tarun Grover, D. N. Sheng, Ashvin Vishwanath

Author(s): S. Ouazi, A. Kubetzka, K. von Bergmann, and R. Wiesendanger

Atom manipulation with the magnetic tip of a scanning tunneling microscope is a versatile technique to construct and investigate well-defined atomic spin arrangements. Here we explore the possibility of using a magnetic adatom as a local probe to image surface spin textures. As a model system we cho...

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 076102] Published Fri Feb 21, 2014

Author(s): A. Sonntag, J. Hermenau, A. Schlenhoff, J. Friedlein, S. Krause, and R. Wiesendanger

Magnetoelectric coupling is studied using the electric field between the tip of a spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscope and a nanomagnet. Our experiments show that a negative (positive) electric field stabilizes (destabilizes) in-plane magnetization against thermal agitation, whereas it desta...

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 017204] Published Wed Jan 08, 2014

Since the discovery of topological insulators (TIs)1,2, the peculiar nature of their chiral surface states has been experimentally demonstrated both in bulk and in film materials with open boundaries3,4. Closed boundary on a TI surface may intrigue more interesting phenomena such as quantum confinement of massless Dirac fermions (DFs), which is analogous to the quantum corral (QC) for massive free electrons on a metal surface5-10. To date, it keeps a highly stringent challenge to realize a true Dirac QC due to the unusual transmitting power of a massless fermion. Through heteroepitaxially growing a Bi bilayer on the Bi2Te3 surface with appropriate coverage, here we demonstrate the realization of a true Dirac QC. Specifically, spectacular maps of quantum interference in equilateral triangle-shaped QCs surrounded by Bi bilayers are directly visualized by using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The present success is ascribed to a perfect orientation matching between the QC boundary and the stationary-phase scattering of massless DFs. In addition, the quasiparticle lifetime of the confined DFs is also systematically measured and analyzed.

Transport measurements indicate a nontrivial spin texture stemming from strong spin-orbit coupling in the material BiTeI. Authors: H. Murakawa, M. S. Bahramy, M. Tokunaga, Y. Kohama, C. Bell, Y. Kaneko, N. Nagaosa, H. Y. Hwang, Y. Tokura

The characterization and manipulation of deposited magnetic clusters or molecules on surfaces is a prerequisite for their future utilization. In recent years techniques like spin-flip inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy using a scanning tunneling microscope proved to be very precise in determining e.g. exchange constants in deposited finite spin chains in the meV range. In this article we tackle the problem numerically by investigating the transition from where a pure spin Hamiltonian is sufficient to the point where the interaction with the surface significantly alters the magnetic properties. To this end we study the static, i.e. equilibrium impurity magnetization of antiferromagnetic chains for varying couplings to a conduction electron band of a metal substrate. We show under which circumstances the screening of a part of the system enables one to deduce molecular parameters of the remainder from level crossings in an applied field.

Author(s): N. P. Konstantinidis and Samir Lounis

It is shown that in antiferromagnetic open or closed corrals of magnetic adatoms grown on surfaces, the attachment of a single extra adatom anywhere in the corral impacts on the geometrical topology of the nanosystem and generates complex magnetic structures when a magnetic field is applied or a mag...

[Phys. Rev. B 88, 184414] Published Mon Nov 18, 2013

Many promising building blocks of future electronic technology - including non-stoichiometric compounds, strongly correlated oxides, and strained or patterned films - are inhomogeneous on the nanometer length scale. Exploiting the inhomogeneity of such materials to design next-generation nanodevices requires a band structure probe with nanoscale spatial resolution. To address this demand, we report the first simultaneous observation and quantitative reconciliation of two candidate probes - Landau level spectroscopy and quasiparticle interference imaging - which we employ here to reconstruct the multi-component surface state band structure of the topological semimetal antimony(Sb). We thus establish the technique of band structure tunneling microscopy (BSTM), whose unique advantages include nanoscale access to non-rigid band structure deformation, empty state dispersion, and magnetic field dependent states. We use BSTM to elucidate the relationship between bulk conductivity and surface state robustness in topological materials, and to quantify essential metrics for spintronics applications.

An atomic force microscope tip bearing a single carbon monoxide molecule was used to resolve hydrogen-bonding contacts between molecules. Authors: Jun Zhang, Pengcheng Chen, Bingkai Yuan, Wei Ji, Zhihai Cheng, Xiaohui Qiu

Author(s): Fabian Donat Natterer, François Patthey, and Harald Brune

We demonstrate rotational excitation spectroscopy with the scanning tunneling microscope for physisorbed H₂ and its isotopes HD and D₂. The observed excitation energies are very close to the gas phase values and show the expected scaling with the moment of inertia. Since these energies are character...

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 175303] Published Thu Oct 24, 2013

Nature Nanotechnology 8, 723 (2013). doi:10.1038/nnano.2013.174

Authors: K. Shibata, X. Z. Yu, T. Hara, D. Morikawa, N. Kanazawa, K. Kimoto, S. Ishiwata, Y. Matsui & Y. Tokura

We present a short pedagogical introduction to the physics of Dirac materials, restricted to graphene and two- dimensional topological insulators. We start with a brief reminder of the Dirac and Weyl equations in the particle physics context. Turning to condensed matter systems, semimetallic graphene and various Dirac insulators are introduced, including the Haldane and the Kane-Mele topological insulators. We also discuss briefly experimental realizations in materials with strong spin-orbit coupling.

We describe the construction and performance of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) capable of taking maps of the tunneling density of states with sub-atomic spatial resolution at dilution refrigerator temperatures and high (14 T) magnetic fields. The fully ultra-high vacuum system features visual access to a two-sample microscope stage at the end of a bottom-loading dilution refrigerator, which facilitates the transfer of in situ prepared tips and samples. The two-sample stage enables location of the best area of the sample under study and extends the experiment lifetime. The successful thermal anchoring of the microscope, described in detail, is confirmed through a base temperature reading of 20 mK, along with a measured electron temperature of 250 mK. Atomically-resolved images, along with complementary vibration measurements, are presented to confirm the effectiveness of the vibration isolation scheme in this instrument. Finally, we demonstrate that the microscope is capable of the same level of performance as typical machines with more modest refrigeration by measuring spectroscopic maps at base temperature both at zero field and in an applied magnetic field.