Electric field control of spins in molecular magnets
Physical Review Letters American Physical Society
Authors:
Junjie Liu, Jakub Mrozek, William K Myers, Grigore A Timco, Richard EP Winpenny, Benjamin Kintzel, Winfried Plass, Arzhang Ardavan
Abstract:
Coherent control of individual molecular spins in nano-devices is a pivotal
prerequisite for fulfilling the potential promised by molecular spintronics. By
applying electric field pulses during time-resolved electron spin resonance
measurements, we measure the sensitivity of the spin in several
antiferromagnetic molecular nanomagnets to external electric fields. We find a
linear electric field dependence of the spin states in Cr$_7$Mn, an
antiferromagnetic ring with a ground-state spin of $S=1$, and in a frustrated
Cu$_3$ triangle, both with coefficients of about $2~\mathrm{rad}\,
\mathrm{s}^{-1} / \mathrm{V} \mathrm{m}^{-1}$. Conversely, the
antiferromagnetic ring Cr$_7$Ni, isomorphic with Cr$_7$Mn but with $S=1/2$,
does not exhibit a detectable effect. We propose that the spin-electric field
coupling may be used for selectively controlling individual molecules embedded
in nanodevices.