Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 17: Spins on surfaces at the atomic scale – Poster

O 17.8: Poster

Monday, March 9, 2026, 18:00–20:00, P2

Switching properties of a spin-crossover complex on Cu(111) analyzed from time traces of the tunneling current — •Katharina Biel¹, Jasmeen Jasmeen¹, Sujoy Karan¹, Karl Ridier², Gael Reecht¹, and Manuel Gruber¹ — ¹Faculty of Physics and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany — ²LCC, CNRS and Université de Toulouse, France

Spin-crossover molecules can be switched between two states associated with different spin, a low spin (LS) and a high spin (HS) state. The switching between these two states can be induced by tunneling electrons, among other triggers, which offer the possibility to use a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to investigate the switching dynamics at the single molecular level.

Here we investigate the spin-crossover molecule [Fe(HB(1,2,4-trazolyl)₃)₂], which forms self-assembled islands on Cu(111) and exhibits efficient switching under electron injection. The switching is monitored via time traces of the tunneling current, exhibiting two levels corresponding to the different spin states. Statistical analysis of these traces provides a detailed view on the switching properties. In particular we studied the influence of the applied voltage and the tunneling current on the switching rate. The influence of the applied voltage and the tunneling current on the switching yield is studied in details.

Keywords: scanning tunneling microscopy; spin-crossover