Electronic structure and magnetism of surface supported 3D and 4D Metal Clusters

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Axel Enders
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2003 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5405275

Within the project we plan to investigate experimentally the correlation between magnetism, the electronic and the geometrical structure of surface-supported 3D and 4D Metal Clusters. We want to explore the determining factors for the magnetic moment and the magnetic anisotropy on the atomic scale. We study how the magnetic properties depend on the cluster size and shape and on the substrate material and orientation. The experiments focus on iron and rhodium clusters on platinum and silver surfaces. We compare the properties of clusters deposited from the gas phase with clusters formed on the substrate by self-organization. The cluster structure, the electronic properties and the magnetism are studied with local and integral techniques, such as scanning tunneling microscopy, scanning tunneling spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The influence of the metallic substrate on the properties of the clusters will be studied by using epitaxial magnesium oxide spacer layers on Ag(100).

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1153: Clusters at Surfaces: Electron Structure and Magnetism
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Klaus Kern