Patrizio Graziosi

Unravelling the role of the interface for spin injection into organic semiconductors

Organic semiconductors are attractive candidates for spintronics applications because of their long spin lifetimes. But few studies have investigated how to optimize the injection of spin into these materials. A new study suggests that the metal/organic interface is key.

Electrically Programmable Magnetoresistance in Multifunctional Organic-Based Spin Valve Devices

5] In this paper we show that an electrically controlled magne-toresistance can be easily achieved in organic devices by com-bining magnetic bistability (spin valve) and electrical memory effects into an interacting multifunctional implementation. Electrical resistive switching effects in organic-based devices have recently received widespread attention

The role of aluminum oxide buffer layer in organic spin-valves performance

The electronic structures of the 8-hydroxyquinoline-aluminum (Alq(3))/Al2O3/Co interfaces were studied by photoelectron spectroscopy. A strong interface dipole was observed, which leads to a reduct ...

A Single-Device Universal Logic Gate Based on a Magnetically Enhanced Memristor

Memristors are one of the most promising candidates for future information and communications technology (ICT) architectures. Two experimental proofs of concept are presented based on the intermixing of spintronic and memristive effects into a single device, a magnetically enhanced memristor (MEM). By exploiting the interaction between the memristance and the giant magnetoresistance (GMR), a universal implication (IMP) logic gate based on a single MEM device is realized.

Hanle effect missing in a prototypical organic spintronic device

We investigate spin precession (Hanle effect) in the prototypical organic spintronic giant magnetoresistance device La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)/AlOx/Co. The Hanle effect is not observed in measurements taken by sweeping a magnetic field at different angles from the plane of the device. As possible explanations we discuss the tilting out of plane of the magnetization of the electrodes, exceptionally high mobility, or hot spots. Our results call for a greater understanding of spin injection and transport in such devices.

Hybrid Interface States and Spin Polarization at Ferromagnetic Metal–Organic Heterojunctions: Interface Engineering for Efficient Spin Injection in Organic Spintronics

Ferromagnetic metal-organic semiconductor (FM-OSC) hybrid interfaces have been shown to play an important role for spin injection in organic spintronics. Here, 11,11,12,12-tetracyanonaptho-2,6-quin ...

Multilayered Magnetic Gelatin Membrane Scaffolds

A versatile approach for the design and fabrication of multilayer magnetic scaffolds with tunable magnetic gradients is described. Multilayer magnetic gelatin membrane scaffolds with intrinsic magnetic gradients were designed to encapsulate magnetized bioagents under an externally applied magnetic field for use in magnetic-field-assisted tissue engineering. The temperature of the individual membranes increased up to 43.7 °C under an applied oscillating magnetic field for 70 s by magnetic hyperthermia, enabling the possibility of inducing a thermal gradient inside the final 3D multilayer magnetic scaffolds. On the basis of finite element method simulations, magnetic gelatin membranes with different concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles were assembled into 3D multilayered scaffolds. A magnetic-gradient-controlled distribution of magnetically labeled stem cells was demonstrated in vitro. This magnetic biomaterial-magnetic cell strategy can be expanded to a number of different magnetic biomaterials for various tissue engineering applications.

Pentacene thin films on ferromagnetic oxide: Growth mechanism and spintronic devices

We investigated the growth mechanism of pentacene thin films on La0.7Sr0.3MnO3. A diffusion limited, thermally activated growth was found. Pentacene molecules formed flat islands that were a few microns in size and whose growth during deposition showed a strong anisotropy. We extracted a nucleation energy of 0.65 ± 0.05 eV and a diffusion barrier energy of 0.7 ± 0.2 eV. We also estimated a critical nucleus size of three molecules. We show that vertical pentacene-based spintronic devices with La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 and Co electrodes demonstrated magnetoresistive effects up to room temperature. We also propose a route for pentacene-based spintronic devices improvement.

Electrode artifacts in low resistance organic spin valves

Artifacts can originate from the inherent shortcomings of the cross bar configuration, when the resistance of the device is small compared to that of one of the electrodes. This is particularly relevant to the field of organic spintronics, in which at least one recent work overlooked this effect. We use a simplified one-dimensional resistor model and a full three-dimensional finite element method simulation to show that an increase in the resistance of one electrode appears as a decrease of the measured resistance. We found that the model agrees qualitatively but not quantitatively with observation.

Quantifying the critical thickness of electron hybridization in spintronics materials

In the rapidly growing field of spintronics, simultaneous control of electronic and magnetic properties is essential, and the perspective of building novel phases is directly linked to the control of tuning parameters, for example, thickness and doping. Looking at the relevant effects in interface-driven spintronics, the reduced symmetry at a surface and interface corresponds to a severe modification of the overlap of electron orbitals, that is, to a change of electron hybridization. Here we report a chemically and magnetically sensitive depth-dependent analysis of two paradigmatic systems, namely La1−xSrxMnO3 and (Ga,Mn)As. Supported by cluster calculations, we find a crossover between surface and bulk in the electron hybridization/correlation and we identify a spectroscopic fingerprint of bulk metallic character and ferromagnetism versus depth. The critical thickness and the gradient of hybridization are measured, setting an intrinsic limit of 3 and 10 unit cells from the surface, respectively, for (Ga,Mn)As and La1−xSrxMnO3, for fully restoring bulk properties.