Modification of the charge and magnetic order of a low dimensional ferromagnet by molecule-surface bonding

Abstract

The ability to design and control the spin and charge order of low dimensional materials on the molecular scale offers an intriguing pathway towards the miniaturization of spintronic technology towards the nanometer scale. In this work, we focus on the adsorption induced modifications of the magnetic and electronic properties of a low dimensional ferromagnetic surface alloy after the adsorption of the prototypical organic molecule perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA). For this metal-organic interface, we observe the formation of a localized σ-like bond between the functional molecular groups and the surface alloy atoms. This strong chemical bonding coincides with a lifting of the characteristic surface alloy band structure and a reduction of the magnitude of the local magnetic moments of the Dy atoms by 18 %. We attribute both findings to a mixing of spin-degenerate molecular states with spin-split states of the Dy-Ag surface alloy via the σ-like bonds between PTCDA and the Dy surface alloy atoms. Our findings clearly demonstrate the potential of tailored molecule-surface σ-bonds to control not only the electronic but also the magnetic order of low dimensional materials.