Monte Carlo and Experimental Magnetic Studies of Molecular Spintronics Devices

Abstract

Molecule-based spintronics devices (MSDs) are highly promising candidates for discovering advanced logic and memory computer units. An advanced MSD will require the placement of paramagnetic molecules between the two ferromagnetic (FM) electrodes. Due to extreme fabrication challenges, only a couple of experimental studies could be performed to understand the effect of magnetic molecules on the overall magnetic and transport properties of MSDs. To date, theoretical studies mainly focused on charge and spin transport aspects of MSDs; there is a dearth of knowledge about the effect of magnetic molecules on the magnetic properties of MSDs. This paper investigates the effect of magnetic molecules, with a net spin, on the magnetic properties of 2D MSDs via Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Our MC simulations encompass a wide range of MSDs that can be realized by establishing different kinds of magnetic interactions between molecules and FM electrodes at different temperatures. The MC simulations show that ambient thermal energy strongly influenced the molecular coupling effect on the MSD. We studied the nature and strength of molecule couplings (FM and antiferromagnetic) with the two electrodes on the magnetization, specific heat and magnetic susceptibility of MSDs. For the case when the nature of molecule interaction was FM with one electrode and antiferromagnetic with another electrode the overall magnetization shifted toward zero. In this case, the effect of molecules was also a strong function of the nature and strength of direct coupling between FM electrodes. In the case when molecules make opposite magnetic couplings with the two FM electrodes, the MSD model used for MC studies resembled with the magnetic tunnel junction based MSD. The experimental magnetic studies on these devices are in agreement with our theoretical MC simulations results. Our MC simulations will enable the fundamental understanding and designing of a wide range of novel spintronics devices utilizing a variety of molecules, nanoclusters and quantum dots as the device elements.