Scaling down information devices to the atomic scale has brought the interest of using individual spins as a basic unit for data storage. This requires precise detection and control of spin states and a better understanding of spin-spin interactions.
For the first time ever, scientists at the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience at Ewha Womans University (QNS) have imaged the spin of an individual molecule using electron spin resonance in a scanning tunneling microscope. This achievement, published this month in Nature Chemistry, harnessed the power of synthetic chemistry to control the electron spin of a molecule.
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has the ability to see exact atomic structures, atom by atom, at a level that is not possible with other techniques. This study uses an electric microwave applied to the STM tip to drive electron spin resonance (ESR) on single molecules and investigate the magnetic interaction between two molecules using this technique.
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