Vertical Tunnel Junction Embedding a Spin Crossover Molecular Film

Lorenzo Poggini (1) , Mathieu Gonidec (1) , Juan González-Estefan (1) , Gilles Pécastaings (2, 3) , Benoît Gobaut (4) , Patrick Rosa (1)

1 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
2 LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques
3 Team 4 LCPO : Polymer Materials for Electronic, Energy, Information and Communication Technologies
4 SSOLEIL - Synchrotron SOLEIL

Thin films of a molecular spin crossover (SCO) Iron(II) complex featuring a high transition temperature are grown by sublimation in high vacuum on TSAu and investigated by X-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopies. Temperature-dependent studies demonstrate that the thermally induced spin crossover behavior is preserved in thin films. A large-area ultrathin switchable spin crossover molecular vertical tunnel junction with top electrodes of the liquid eutectic of gallium and indium, for which the spin-state switching of the films induces a two orders of magnitude change in the tunneling current density flowing through the junction, is reported here. The results on large-area junctions, rationalized by density functional theory calculations, demonstrate the high potential of SCO-based switchable molecular junctions as functional devices.

Mots clés: tunnel junctions; thin films; spin crossover (SCO); eutectic gallium indium alloy (EGaIn)

Domaines: Polymères

Lorenzo Poggini, Mathieu Gonidec, Juan González-Estefan, Gilles Pécastaings, Benoît Gobaut, et al.. Vertical Tunnel Junction Embedding a Spin Crossover Molecular Film. Advanced Electronic Materials, 2018, 4 (12), 1800204 (8 p.). ⟨10.1002/aelm.201800204⟩. ⟨hal-01934788⟩