Spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy of individual magnetic adatoms

ORAL

Abstract

An important goal in condensed matter physics is the ability to measure the spin-polarization state of a single magnetic atom or impurity. We have used spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy (SP-STS) to probe the local spin-dependent electronic structure of isolated Fe and Cr adatoms deposited onto magnetic Co islands on a copper surface. Individual Fe and Cr atoms prepared in this way show strong spin-polarized contrast in their dI/dV spectra. The spectra of Fe and Cr adatoms differ in that Fe atoms couple ferromagnetically to the Co islands while Cr adatoms couple antiferromagnetically to the islands. dI/dV spatial mapping reveals spin-dependent contrast in the spatial features of individual Fe and Cr atoms. Density functional theory calculations support our interpretation of the experimental results.

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Authors

  • Yosef Yayon

    Dept. of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7300

  • Victor Brar

    Dept. of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7300

  • Mike Crommie

    Dept. of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Berkeley, Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7300

  • Laxmidhar Senapati

    Center for Computational Materials Science, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375, Center for Computational Materials Science, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375

  • Steve Erwin

    Center for Computational Materials Science, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375