Controllable Spin Switching in a Single-Molecule Magnetic Tunneling Junction

Abstract

A new type of spin-current filter is proposed that consists of a single-molecule magnet (SMM) coupled to two normal metal electrodes. It is shown that this tunneling junction can generate a highly spin-polarized current, whose spin polarization can be switched by means of magnetic fields and gate voltages applied to the SMM. This spin switching in the SMM tunnel junction arises from spin-selective single-electron resonant tunneling via the lowest unoccupied molecular orbit of the SMM. The electron current spectrum is still spin polarized in the absence of an external magnetic field, which can help to judge whether the molecule’s spin state has reached the ground-state doublet $$|\\pm S\\rangle$$ | ± S ⟩ . This device can be realized with current technologies and may have practical use in spintronics and quantum information.