Understanding and controlling nanoscale spin coupling in molecular spintronic materials

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Spintronics at the molecular scale is a strongly growing discipline due to intriguing fundamental phenomena as well as high potential for technological applications. This area aims at controlling spin degrees of freedom in nanoscale devices to attain useful new functionality. For this purpose, a more fundamental understanding of the local properties and interactions of molecular spin centers embedded in a solid-state environment is necessary, requiring new studies with high spatial and energy resolution.In this proposed research, new bottom-up designed molecular spin structures and single molecule magnets will be characterized and manipulated in an atomic-scale controlled environment by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS), as well as spin-polarized STM and single-molecule transport at cryogenic temperatures. The main goal is to gain fundamental knowledge of the interplay between structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the surface-supported molecular magnets and molecule-based spin structures. Based upon this new understanding, prototype molecular spintronic devices will be realized that utilize the spin degree of freedom through tailored orbital coupling on gate-tunable graphene devices or by harnessing the spin-torque effect in single molecule transport experiments.