Spintronics with functional molecules – SPINFUN

This project aims at tailoring spintronics devices by molecular engineering using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of functional molecules. Our aim is to go beyond the state-of-the-art of fundamental knowledge to develop and evaluate the potential of multifunctional molecular spintronics devices.

Scientific novelty, ambition and disruptive potential: It was recently unveiled that spin-dependent hybridization at ferromagnet/molecule interface could induce a spin polarization on the molecular orbitals which could be inverted or enhanced depending on the coupling strength. This has led to the birth of a new research field on molecular spin-polarized interfaces, dubbed “spinterface”, with many confirmations spanning from STM to photoemission experiments. We aim at building new device functionalities beyond conventional spintronics by designing active metal/functional-molecule combinations to exploit this unique tailoring opportunity offered by chemistry.
We wish to achieve a proactive control of the spin polarization at the interface, rather than the usual passive experimental determination. Hence we propose to use functional molecules controlled by external stimuli (light or electric field) to modify the hybridization in-situ. We expect that molecular switching will induce both resistance and magnetoresistance changes leading to multifunctional spintronics devices. In fine, we should expect that the possibility of tuning the resistance as well as the magnetoresistance thanks to the spin dependent hybridization at the ferromagnet/molecule interface could lead to a new class of devices with non-volatile multifuntional properties.

To reach our objectives of spintronics tailoring through the use of functional molecules, we will address: 1) the synthesis and grafting of self-assembled monolayers on ferromagnetic electrodes; 2) the characterization of their electronic properties; 3) the theoretical and experimental study of the spin dependent transport and its modulation through functional molecules. A key asset of this interdisciplinary project is the ability to gather the necessary expertise in chemistry (ICMMO), molecular electronics (IEMN), spintronics (UMPhy CNRS/Thales) and theory (CMN). Successfully understanding the processes involved and establishing a solid knowledge requires this multidisciplinary expertise.