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Singha A, Donati F, Natterer FD, Wäckerlin C, Stavrić S, Popović ZS, Šljivančanin Ž, Patthey F, Brune H. Spin Excitations in a 4f-3d Heterodimer on MgO. Phys Rev Lett 2018; 121:257202. [PMID: 30608837 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.121.257202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We report on the magnetic properties of HoCo dimers as a model system for the smallest intermetallic compound of a lanthanide and a transition metal atom. The dimers are adsorbed on ultrathin MgO(100) films grown on Ag(100). New for 4f elements, we detect inelastic excitations with scanning tunneling spectroscopy and prove their magnetic origin by applying an external magnetic field. In combination with density functional theory and spin Hamiltonian analysis, we determine the magnetic level distribution, as well as sign and magnitude of the exchange interaction between the two atoms. In contrast to typical 4f-3d bulk compounds, we find ferromagnetic coupling in the dimer.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Singha
- Center for Quantum Nanoscience, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - F Donati
- Center for Quantum Nanoscience, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - F D Natterer
- Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - C Wäckerlin
- Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Nanoscale Materials Science, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - S Stavrić
- Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, RS-11001 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Z S Popović
- Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, RS-11001 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ž Šljivančanin
- Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, RS-11001 Belgrade, Serbia
- Texas A&M University at Qatar, P.O. Box 23874, Education City, Doha, Qatar
| | - F Patthey
- Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - H Brune
- Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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