AI Article Synopsis
- Single atom magnets can revolutionize magnetic information storage by manipulating magnetic states at the atomic level.
- Researchers utilized X-ray absorption spectroscopy to investigate how the electronic behavior of dysprosium atoms changes when coupled with different thicknesses of MgO films and an underlying Ag substrate.
- Findings indicate that varying the MgO thickness not only alters dysprosium's electronic configuration but also affects its magnetic stability, revealing the critical role of adsorption sites and charge transfer in the longevity of these quantum states.
Article Abstract
Single atom magnets offer the possibility of magnetic information storage in the most fundamental unit of matter. Identifying the parameters that control the stability of their magnetic states is crucial to design novel quantum magnets with tailored properties. Here, we use X-ray absorption spectroscopy to show that the electronic configuration of dysprosium atoms on MgO(100) thin films can be tuned by the proximity of the metal Ag(100) substrate onto which the MgO films are grown. Increasing the MgO thickness from 2.5 to 9 monolayers induces a change in the dysprosium electronic configuration from 4f to 4f. Hysteresis loops indicate long magnetic lifetimes for both configurations, however, with a different field-dependent magnetic stability. Combining these measurements with scanning tunneling microscopy, density functional theory, and multiplet calculations unveils the role of the adsorption site and charge transfer to the substrate in determining the stability of quantum states in dysprosium single atom magnets.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02744 | DOI Listing |
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