title: Large magnetic anisotropy of a single atomic spin embedded in a surface molecular network.
abstract: Magnetic anisotropy allows magnets to maintain their direction of magnetization over time. Using a scanning tunneling microscope to observe spin excitations, we determined the orientation and strength of the anisotropies of individual iron and manganese atoms on a thin layer of copper nitride. The relative intensities of the inelastic tunneling processes are consistent with dipolar interactions, as seen for inelastic neutron scattering. First-principles calculations indicate that the magnetic atoms become incorporated into a polar covalent surface molecular network in the copper nitride. These structures, which provide atom-by-atom accessibility via local probes, have the potential for engineering anisotropies large enough to produce stable magnetization at low temperatures for a single atomic spin.
authors.affiliation: IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA 95120, USA.
authors.forename: Cyrus F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Hirjibehedin
authors.forename: Chiung-Yuan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Alexander F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Otte
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ternes
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Andreas J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Heinrich