Browsing by Author "Misiorny, Maciej"
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Item Charge and spin transport through magnetic molecules(2010-04-06T06:53:50Z) Misiorny, Maciej; Barnaś, Józef. PromotorDue to their peculiar physical properties such as an energy barrier for the spin reversal or long spin relaxation times, single-molecule magnets (SMMs) are inherently predestined for applications in novel molecular electronic and spintronic devices. The following thesis is devoted to studying transport properties of such molecules, with the main emphasis laid on discussing how the flow of spin-polarized current through a SMM can affect the magnetic state of the molecule. The system under investigation consists of a SMM bridged between two metallic, ferromagnetic electrodes with collinear magnetic moments. Furthermore, electronic transport is assumed to take place via the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level of the molecule. I show that due to exchange interaction between an electron occupying the LUMO level and the SMM's core spin, during tunneling of spin-polarized electrons through a molecule one can observe an effect analogous to the current-induced magnetic switching (CIMS) phenomenon, known from other magnetic systems, for instance, nanowires or spin valves. The origin of the CIMS mechanism in SMMs stems from angular momentum transfer between a spin-polarized current and the molecule, and it allows for manipulating the SMM's spin state without application of an external magnetic field. I also focus on studying dynamical aspects of the magnetic switching mechanism, together with other spin effects that can arise in the situation under consideration. Finally, I analyze the possibility of employing a pulse of circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation for stimulating the mechanism of CIMS.