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Sellies, Lisanne ; Spachtholz, Raffael ; Bleher, Sonja ; Eckrich, Jakob ; Scheuerer, Philipp ; Repp, Jascha

Single-molecule electron spin resonance by means of atomic force microscopy

Sellies, Lisanne , Spachtholz, Raffael, Bleher, Sonja, Eckrich, Jakob, Scheuerer, Philipp and Repp, Jascha (2023) Single-molecule electron spin resonance by means of atomic force microscopy. Nature 624 (7990), pp. 64-68.

Date of publication of this fulltext: 10 Dec 2023 19:23
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.55185


Abstract

Understanding and controlling decoherence in open quantum systems is of fundamental interest in science, whereas achieving long coherence times is critical for quantum information processing1. Although great progress was made for individual systems, and electron spin resonance (ESR) of single spins with nanoscale resolution has been demonstrated2-4, the understanding of decoherence in many ...

Understanding and controlling decoherence in open quantum systems is of fundamental interest in science, whereas achieving long coherence times is critical for quantum information processing1. Although great progress was made for individual systems, and electron spin resonance (ESR) of single spins with nanoscale resolution has been demonstrated2-4, the understanding of decoherence in many complex solid-state quantum systems requires ultimately controlling the environment down to atomic scales, as potentially enabled by scanning probe microscopy with its atomic and molecular characterization and manipulation capabilities. Consequently, the recent implementation of ESR in scanning tunnelling microscopy5-8 represents a milestone towards this goal and was quickly followed by the demonstration of coherent oscillations9,10 and access to nuclear spins11 with real-space atomic resolution. Atomic manipulation even fuelled the ambition to realize the first artificial atomic-scale quantum devices12. However, the current-based sensing inherent to this method limits coherence times12,13. Here we demonstrate pump-probe ESR atomic force microscopy (AFM) detection of electron spin transitions between non-equilibrium triplet states of individual pentacene molecules. Spectra of these transitions exhibit sub-nanoelectronvolt spectral resolution, allowing local discrimination of molecules that only differ in their isotopic configuration. Furthermore, the electron spins can be coherently manipulated over tens of microseconds. We anticipate that single-molecule ESR-AFM can be combined with atomic manipulation and characterization and thereby paves the way to learn about the atomistic origins of decoherence in atomically well-defined quantum elements and for fundamental quantum-sensing experiments. By using a pump-probe atomic force microscopy detection scheme, electron spin transitions between non-equilibrium triplet states of individual pentacene molecules, as well as the ability to manipulate electron spins over tens of microseconds, is demonstrated.



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  • [img] Sellies, Lisanne , Spachtholz, Raffael, Bleher, Sonja, Eckrich, Jakob, Scheuerer, Philipp and Repp, Jascha (2023) Single-molecule electron spin resonance by means of atomic force microscopy. Nature 624 (7990), pp. 64-68. [Currently displayed]

Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleNature
Publisher:NATURE PORTFOLIO
Place of Publication:BERLIN
Volume:624
Number of Issue or Book Chapter:7990
Page Range:pp. 64-68
Date6 December 2023
InstitutionsPhysics > Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics > Group Jascha Repp
Projects
Funded by: Europäische Kommission (EU) (951519)
Identification Number
ValueType
10.1038/s41586-023-06754-6DOI
KeywordsMAGNETIC-RESONANCE; INDIVIDUAL ATOMS; PARAMAGNETIC-RESONANCE; CHARGE-STATE; PENTACENE; FLUORESCENCE; COHERENCE;
Dewey Decimal Classification500 Science > 530 Physics
500 Science > 540 Chemistry & allied sciences
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgYes
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-551856
Item ID55185

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