Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope with a superconducting magnet

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: Funded in 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 534143996

A commercial ultra-high vacuum low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope with a superconducting magnet is requested to investigate the magnetic properties and the switching dynamics of nano-objects, primarily individual molecules with a magnetic moment, adsorbed on metal surfaces. The instrument has a base temperature of 0.4 K and is equipped with a superconducting magnet that can provide a variable magnetic field of up to 11 T in the direction perpendicular to the sample. The microscope is complemented by a preparation chamber to prepare clean samples in situ. This instrumentation shall be used to explore three axes of research: (i) the spin-state switching of individual molecules, (ii) the magnetic properties of multinuclear molecular compounds, and (iii) the switching dynamics of magnetic molecules and other nano-systems. The instrument is particularly adapted to precisely characterize magnetic systems owing to the 120 µeV spectroscopic energy resolution and the variable magnetic field. The latter also allows polarizing spin systems, including clusters of magnetic atoms at the tip of the microscope to be sensitive to spin polarized currents.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Tieftemperatur-Rastertunnelmikroskop mit einem supraleitenden Magneten
• Instrumentation Group: 5091 Rasterkraft-Mikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Universität Duisburg-Essen
• Leader: Professor Manuel Gruber, Ph.D.