Electrically controlled nonvolatile switching of single-atom magnetism in a Dy@C<sub>84</sub> single-molecule transistor.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38503743.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46854-z and PMC identifier 10951203.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Single-atom magnetism switching is a key technique towards the ultimate data storage density of computer hard disks and has been conceptually realized by leveraging the spin bistability of a magnetic atom under a scanning tunnelling microscope. However, it has rarely been applied to solid-state transistors, an advancement that would be highly desirable for enabling various applications. Here, we demonstrate realization of the electrically controlled Zeeman effect in Dy@C<sub>84</sub> single-molecule transistors, thus revealing a transition in the magnetic moment from 3.8 <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <msub><mrow><mi>μ</mi></mrow> <mrow><mi>B</mi></mrow> </msub> </math> to 5.1 <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <msub><mrow><mi>μ</mi></mrow> <mrow><mi>B</mi></mrow> </msub> </math> for the ground-state G<sub>N</sub> at an electric field strength of 3 <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mo>-</mo></math> 10 MV/cm. The consequent magnetoresistance significantly increases from 600% to 1100% at the resonant tunneling point. Density functional theory calculations further corroborate our realization of nonvolatile switching of single-atom magnetism, and the switching stability emanates from an energy barrier of 92 meV for atomic relaxation. These results highlight the potential of using endohedral metallofullerenes for high-temperature, high-stability, high-speed, and compact single-atom magnetic data storage.