| title: | Magneto-optics of molecular magnets |
|---|---|
| reg no: | ETF5553 |
| project type: | Estonian Science Foundation research grant |
| subject: |
1.1-1.5. Exact Sciences |
| status: | accepted |
| institution: | Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics |
| head of project: | Toomas Rõõm |
| duration: | 01.01.2003 - 31.12.2006 |
| description: | This project is intended to study a novel type of spin systems, called molecular magnets. Molecular magnets have a potential use as memory devices and computational units in quantum computers. Molecular magnet is a collection of coherently coupled electron spins. As a result they have a high spin state, for example S=10 in Mn12 and Fe8. There is a high energy barrier, 60K in Mn12, separating spin up and spin down states. At high temperature spin reorientation is thermally activated over the barrier and at lower temperature tunneling through the barrier occurs. Memory devices require extremly slow reorientation speed. The advantage of molecular magnets over the metal nanoparticles is that they can be modified chemically to change their magnetic properties. Computational physics has a power of predicting molecular structures. To test the computational models it is necessary to know the energy levels of existing molecular magnets. Our aim is to study the spin relaxation, tunneling and the energy spectrum of molecular magnets. Using magnetic circular dichroism technique, not used before on molecular magnets for relaxation measurements, we study spin relaxation and tunneling. Using far-infrared technique the energy spectrum of the lowest and excited multiplets and the low energy phonon spectrum will be mapped out. This way we expect to unravel the mechanism of spin reorientation and the factors affecting its speed. The energy spectrum is important for further theoretical investigations and the design of new molecular magnets |
| project group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | name | institution | position | |
| 1. | Dan Hüvonen | NICPB | scientist | |
| 2. | Urmas Nagel | NICPB | sen. scientist | |
| 3. | Toomas Rõõm | Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics | senior scientist | |