UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Tunable magnetoresistance in an asymmetrically coupled single molecule junction

Warner, B; El Hallak, F; prueser, H; Sharp, J; Persson, M; Fisher, AJ; Hirjibehedin, CF; (2015) Tunable magnetoresistance in an asymmetrically coupled single molecule junction. Nature Nanotechnology , 10 (3) pp. 259-263. 10.1038/nnano.2014.326. Green open access

[thumbnail of Warner with DOI.pdf]
Preview
Text
Warner with DOI.pdf

Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

Phenomena that are highly sensitive to magnetic fields can be exploited in sensors and non-volatile memories1. The scaling of such phenomena down to the single-molecule level2,3 may enable novel spintronic devices4. Here, we report magnetoresistance in a single-molecule junction arising from negative differential resistance that shifts in a magnetic field at a rate two orders of magnitude larger than Zeeman shifts. This sensitivity to the magnetic field produces two voltage-tunable forms of magnetoresistance, which can be selected via the applied bias. The negative differential resistance is caused by transient charging5,6,7 of an iron phthalocyanine (FePc) molecule on a single layer of copper nitride (Cu2N) on a Cu(001) surface, and occurs at voltages corresponding to the alignment of sharp resonances in the filled and empty molecular states with the Cu(001) Fermi energy. An asymmetric voltage-divider effect enhances the apparent voltage shift of the negative differential resistance with magnetic field, which inherently is on the scale of the Zeeman energy8. These results illustrate the impact that asymmetric coupling to metallic electrodes can have on transport through molecules, and highlight how this coupling can be used to develop molecular spintronic applications.

Type: Article
Title: Tunable magnetoresistance in an asymmetrically coupled single molecule junction
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2014.326
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.326
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1461266
Downloads since deposit
134Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item