TY - JOUR
T1 - Engineering atomic-scale magnetic fields by dysprosium single atom magnets
AU - Singha, A.
AU - Willke, P.
AU - Bilgeri, T.
AU - Zhang, X.
AU - Brune, H.
AU - Donati, F.
AU - Heinrich, A. J.
AU - Choi, T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - Atomic scale engineering of magnetic fields is a key ingredient for miniaturizing quantum devices and precision control of quantum systems. This requires a unique combination of magnetic stability and spin-manipulation capabilities. Surface-supported single atom magnets offer such possibilities, where long temporal and thermal stability of the magnetic states can be achieved by maximizing the magnet/ic anisotropy energy (MAE) and by minimizing quantum tunnelling of the magnetization. Here, we show that dysprosium (Dy) atoms on magnesium oxide (MgO) have a giant MAE of 250 meV, currently the highest among all surface spins. Using a variety of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) techniques including single atom electron spin resonance (ESR), we confirm no spontaneous spin-switching in Dy over days at ≈ 1 K under low and even vanishing magnetic field. We utilize these robust Dy single atom magnets to engineer magnetic nanostructures, demonstrating unique control of magnetic fields with atomic scale tunability.
AB - Atomic scale engineering of magnetic fields is a key ingredient for miniaturizing quantum devices and precision control of quantum systems. This requires a unique combination of magnetic stability and spin-manipulation capabilities. Surface-supported single atom magnets offer such possibilities, where long temporal and thermal stability of the magnetic states can be achieved by maximizing the magnet/ic anisotropy energy (MAE) and by minimizing quantum tunnelling of the magnetization. Here, we show that dysprosium (Dy) atoms on magnesium oxide (MgO) have a giant MAE of 250 meV, currently the highest among all surface spins. Using a variety of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) techniques including single atom electron spin resonance (ESR), we confirm no spontaneous spin-switching in Dy over days at ≈ 1 K under low and even vanishing magnetic field. We utilize these robust Dy single atom magnets to engineer magnetic nanostructures, demonstrating unique control of magnetic fields with atomic scale tunability.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109695067&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-24465-2
DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-24465-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 34234133
AN - SCOPUS:85109695067
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 12
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 4179
ER -