1 research outputs found
Large Conductance Switching in a Single-Molecule Device through Room Temperature Spin-Dependent Transport
Controlling the spin of electrons
in nanoscale electronic devices is one of the most promising topics
aiming at developing devices with rapid and high density information
storage capabilities. The interface magnetism or <i>spinterface</i> resulting from the interaction between a magnetic molecule and a
metal surface, or <i>vice versa</i>, has become a key ingredient
in creating nanoscale molecular devices with novel functionalities.
Here, we present a single-molecule wire that displays large (>10000%)
conductance switching by controlling the spin-dependent transport
under ambient conditions (room temperature in a liquid cell). The
molecular wire is built by trapping individual spin crossover Fe<sup>II</sup> complexes between one Au electrode and one ferromagnetic
Ni electrode in an organic liquid medium. Large changes in the single-molecule
conductance (>100-fold) are measured when the electrons flow from
the Au electrode to either an α-up or a β-down spin-polarized
Ni electrode. Our calculations show that the current flowing through
such an interface appears to be strongly spin-polarized, thus resulting
in the observed switching of the single-molecule wire conductance.
The observation of such a high spin-dependent conductance switching
in a single-molecule wire opens up a new door for the design and control
of spin-polarized transport in nanoscale molecular devices at room
temperature