Minimally invasive spin sensing with scanning tunneling microscopy

Malavolti, L.; McMurtrie, G.; Rolf-Pissarczyk, S.; Yan, S.; Burgess, J. A. J.; Loth, S.

doi:10.1039/C9NR10252C

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Minimally invasive spin sensing with scanning tunneling microscopy

MPS-Authors

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Malavolti, L.
Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies, University of Stuttgart;
Dynamics of Nanoelectronic Systems, Independent Research Groups, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart;

/persons/resource/persons182906

McMurtrie, G.
Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies, University of Stuttgart;
Dynamics of Nanoelectronic Systems, Independent Research Groups, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart;

/persons/resource/persons133864

Rolf-Pissarczyk, S.
Dynamics of Nanoelectronic Systems, Independent Research Groups, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart;

/persons/resource/persons133866

Yan, S.
Dynamics of Nanoelectronic Systems, Independent Research Groups, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart;
School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University;

/persons/resource/persons140803

Burgess, J. A. J.
Dynamics of Nanoelectronic Systems, Independent Research Groups, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart;
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg;

/persons/resource/persons133858

Loth, S.
Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies, University of Stuttgart;
Dynamics of Nanoelectronic Systems, Independent Research Groups, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart;

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Citation

Malavolti, L., McMurtrie, G., Rolf-Pissarczyk, S., Yan, S., Burgess, J. A. J., & Loth, S. (2020). Minimally invasive spin sensing with scanning tunneling microscopy. Nanoscale, 12(21), 11619-11626. doi:10.1039/C9NR10252C.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0006-A30F-2

Abstract

Minimizing the invasiveness of scanning tunneling measurements is paramount for observation of the magnetic properties of unperturbed atomic-scale objects. We show that the invasiveness of STM inspection on few-atom spin systems can be drastically reduced by means of a remote detection scheme, which makes use of a sensor spin weakly coupled to the sensed object. By comparing direct and remote measurements we identify the relevant perturbations caused by the local probe. For direct inspection we find that tunneling electrons strongly perturb the investigated object even for currents as low as 3 pA. Electrons injected into the sensor spin induce perturbations with much reduced probability. The sensing scheme uses standard differential conductance measurements, and is decoupled both by its non-local nature, and by dynamic decoupling due to the significantly different time scales at which the sensor and sensed object evolve. The latter makes it possible to effectively remove static interactions between the sensed object and the spin sensor while still allowing the spin sensing. In this way we achieve measurements with a reduction in perturbative effects of up to 100 times relative to direct scanning tunneling measurements, which enables minimally invasive measurements of a few-atom magnet's fragile spin states with STM.