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Hermenau J, Ibañez-Azpiroz J, Hübner C, Sonntag A, Baxevanis B, Ton KT, Steinbrecher M, Khajetoorians AA, Dos Santos Dias M, Blügel S, Wiesendanger R, Lounis S, Wiebe J. A gateway towards non-collinear spin processing using three-atom magnets with strong substrate coupling. Nat Commun 2017; 8:642. [PMID: 28935897 PMCID: PMC5608713 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00506-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
A cluster of a few magnetic atoms on the surface of a nonmagnetic substrate is one suitable realization of a bit for spin-based information technology. The prevalent approach to achieve magnetic stability is decoupling the cluster spin from substrate conduction electrons in order to suppress destabilizing spin-flips. However, this route entails less flexibility in tailoring the coupling between the bits needed for spin-processing. Here, we use a spin-resolved scanning tunneling microscope to write, read, and store spin information for hours in clusters of three atoms strongly coupled to a substrate featuring a cloud of non-collinearly polarized host atoms, a so-called non-collinear giant moment cluster. The giant moment cluster can be driven into a Kondo screened state by simply moving one of its atoms to a different site. Using the exceptional atomic tunability of the non-collinear substrate mediated Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, we propose a logical scheme for a four-state memory. Information technology based on few atom magnets requires both long spin-energy relaxation times and flexible inter-bit coupling. Here, the authors show routes to manipulate information in three-atom clusters strongly coupled to substrate electrons by exploiting Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Hermenau
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany
| | - J Ibañez-Azpiroz
- Peter Grünberg Institute and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich & JARA, Jülich, 52425, Germany
| | - Chr Hübner
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany
| | - A Sonntag
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany
| | - B Baxevanis
- Leiden Institute of Physics, Leiden University, 2333, CA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - K T Ton
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany
| | - M Steinbrecher
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany
| | - A A Khajetoorians
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany.,Institute for Molecules and Materials (IMM), Radboud University, 6525, AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - M Dos Santos Dias
- Peter Grünberg Institute and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich & JARA, Jülich, 52425, Germany
| | - S Blügel
- Peter Grünberg Institute and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich & JARA, Jülich, 52425, Germany
| | - R Wiesendanger
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany
| | - S Lounis
- Peter Grünberg Institute and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich & JARA, Jülich, 52425, Germany
| | - J Wiebe
- Department of Physics, Hamburg University, 20355, Hamburg, Germany.
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Sonntag A, Hermenau J, Krause S, Wiesendanger R. Thermal stability of an interface-stabilized skyrmion lattice. Phys Rev Lett 2014; 113:077202. [PMID: 25170729 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.113.077202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The thermal stability of the magnetic nano-skyrmion lattice in the monolayer Fe/Ir(111) is investigated using temperature dependent spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Our experiments show that the skyrmion lattice disappears at a temperature of T_{c}=27.8 K, indicating a loss of long-range magnetic order. At second-layer iron islands the lattice is pinned and local order persists at temperatures above T_{c}. The findings are explained in terms of the complex magnetic interactions involved in the formation of the skyrmion lattice.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sonntag
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - J Hermenau
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - S Krause
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R Wiesendanger
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
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Sonntag A, Hermenau J, Schlenhoff A, Friedlein J, Krause S, Wiesendanger R. Electric-field-induced magnetic anisotropy in a nanomagnet investigated on the atomic scale. Phys Rev Lett 2014; 112:017204. [PMID: 24483926 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.112.017204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
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 destabilizes (stabilizes) out-of-plane magnetization. We conclude that the electric field E induces a uniaxial anisotropy that favors in-plane magnetization for E<0 and out-of-plane magnetization for E>0. Our experiments demonstrate magnetic manipulation on the atomic scale without exploiting spin or charge currents.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sonntag
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - J Hermenau
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - A Schlenhoff
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - J Friedlein
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - S Krause
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R Wiesendanger
- Institute of Applied Physics and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
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