Impact of tunnel barrier strength on magnetoresistance in carbon nanotubes

We investigate magnetoresistance in spin valves involving CoPd-contacted carbon nanotubes. Both temperature and bias voltage dependence clearly indicate tunneling magnetoresistance as the origin. We show that this effect is significantly affected by the tunnel barrier strength, which appears to be one reason for the variation between devices previously detected in similar structures. Modeling the data by means of the scattering matrix approach, we find a non-trivial dependence of the magnetoresistance on the barrier strength. Furthermore, analysis of the spin precession observed in a nonlocal Hanle measurement yields a spin lifetime of $\tau_s = 1.1\,$ns, a value comparable with those found in silicon- or graphene-based spin valve devices.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Spintronic magnetic anisotropy

An attractive feature of magnetic adatoms and molecules for nanoscale applications is their superparamagnetism, the preferred alignment of their spin along an easy axis preventing undesired spin reversal. The underlying magnetic anisotropy barrier --a quadrupolar energy splitting-- is internally generated by spin-orbit interaction and can nowadays be probed by electronic transport. Here we predict that in a much broader class of quantum-dot systems with spin larger than one-half, superparamagnetism may arise without spin-orbit interaction: by attaching ferromagnets a spintronic exchange field of quadrupolar nature is generated locally. It can be observed in conductance measurements and surprisingly leads to enhanced spin filtering even in a state with zero average spin. Analogously to the spintronic dipolar exchange field, responsible for a local spin torque, the effect is susceptible to electric control and increases with tunnel coupling as well as with spin polarization.Comment: 6 pages with 4 figures + 26 pages of Supplementary Informatio

Probing Transverse Magnetic Anisotropy by Electronic Transport through a Single-Molecule Magnet

By means of electronic transport, we study the transverse magnetic anisotropy of an individual Fe$_4$ single-molecule magnet (SMM) embedded in a three-terminal junction. In particular, we determine in situ the transverse anisotropy of the molecule from the pronounced intensity modulations of the linear conductance, which are observed as a function of applied magnetic field. The proposed technique works at temperatures exceeding the energy scale of the tunnel splittings of the SMM. We deduce that the transverse anisotropy for a single Fe$_4$ molecule captured in a junction is substantially larger than the bulk value.Comment: 18 pages with 16 figures; version as publishe

Quantum Tunneling of Magnetization in Single Molecular Magnets Coupled to Ferromagnetic Reservoirs

The role of spin polarized reservoirs in quantum tunneling of magnetization and relaxation processes in a single molecular magnet (SMM) is investigated theoretically. The SMM is exchange-coupled to the reservoirs and also subjected to a magnetic field varying in time, which enables the quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM). The spin relaxation times are calculated from the Fermi golden rule. The exchange interaction with tunneling electrons is shown to affect the spin reversal due to QTM. Furthermore, it is shown that the switching is associated with transfer of a certain charge between the leads.Comment: 5 pages, 3 EPS figures, final version as publishe

Charge transport through single molecules, quantum dots, and quantum wires

We review recent progresses in the theoretical description of correlation and quantum fluctuation phenomena in charge transport through single molecules, quantum dots, and quantum wires. A variety of physical phenomena is addressed, relating to co-tunneling, pair-tunneling, adiabatic quantum pumping, charge and spin fluctuations, and inhomogeneous Luttinger liquids. We review theoretical many-body methods to treat correlation effects, quantum fluctuations, nonequilibrium physics, and the time evolution into the stationary state of complex nanoelectronic systems.Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, Topical Review for Nanotechnolog

Spin-Atomic Vibration Interaction and Spin-Flip Hamiltonian of a Single Atomic Spin in a Crystal Field

We derive the spin-atomic vibration interaction $V_{\rm SA}$ and the spin-flip Hamiltonian $V_{\rm SF}$ of a single atomic spin in a crystal field. We here apply the perturbation theory to a model with the spin-orbit interaction and the kinetic and potential energies of electrons. The model also takes into account the difference in vibration displacement between an effective nucleus and electrons, \Delta {{\boldmath r}}. Examining the coefficients of $V_{\rm SA}$ and $V_{\rm SF}$, we first show that $V_{\rm SA}$ appears for \Delta {{\boldmath r}}$\ne$0, while $V_{\rm SF}$ is present independently of \Delta {{\boldmath r}}. As an application, we next obtain $V_{\rm SA}$ and $V_{\rm SF}$ of an Fe ion in a crystal field of tetragonal symmetry. It is found that the magnitudes of the coefficients of $V_{\rm SA}$ can be larger than those of the conventional spin-phonon interaction depending on vibration frequency. In addition, transition probabilities per unit time due to $V_{\rm SA}$ and $V_{\rm SF}$ are investigated for the Fe ion with an anisotropy energy of $-|D|S_Z^2$, where $D$ is an anisotropy constant and $S_Z$ is the $Z$ component of a spin operator.Comment: 55 pages, 17 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 79 (2010) No. 11, typos correcte