Recent advances in the study of magnetic atomic structures on noble metal surfaces are reviewed. These include one- dimensional strings, two-dimensional hexagonal superlattices, and novel structures stabilized by quantum guiding. The combined techniques of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and ab initio calculations reveal that surface-state-mediated adatom-step and adatom-adatom interactions are the driving forces for self- assembly of these structures. The formation conditions are further discussed by comparing various experimental systems and the kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and tight-binding calculations together, we reveal that the spectra of these well-ordered structures have characteristic peaks induced by electronic scattering processes of the atoms within the local environment. Moreover, it is demonstrated that quantum confinement by means of nano-size corrals has significant influence on adatom diffusion and self-assembly, leading to a quantum-guided self-assembly.
We analyze the reading and initialization of a topological qubit encoded by Majorana fermions in one-dimensional semiconducting nanowires, weakly coupled to a single level quantum dot （QD）. It is shown that when the Majorana fermions are fused by tuning gate voltage, the topological qubit can be read out directly through the occupation of the QD in an energy window. The initialization of the qubit can also be realized via adjusting the gate voltage on the QD, with the total fermion parity conserved. As a result, both reading and initialization processes can be achieved in an all-electrical way.
The spin relaxation time is long in organic semiconductors because of the weak spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions,leading to intensive study on spin transport in organic semiconductors.The rapid progress towards utilizing spin degree of freedom in organic electronic devices is occurring.While the spin injection,transport and detection in organic semiconductors are demonstrated,the fundamental physics of these phenomena remains unclear.This paper highlights recent progress that has been made,focusing primarily on present experimental work.
We review recent studies by different experimental means of ultrathin films,exhibiting thickness-driven spin reorientation transitions(SRTs).The stage is set by determining,via phenomenological thermodynamic description,of the relevant phase diagrams for the possible types of SRT with and without applied magnetic field.Suitable representation may be chosen such that best use is made of the linear character(under thickness variation) of the system's path in anisotropy space.The latter involves higher-order bulk and surface anisotropies in a substantial way.We examine sensitive experimental techniques for the detection and quantification of SRTs,such as hysteresis measurements with magneto-optical Kerr effect(MOKE),micromagnetic studies utilizing scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis(SEMPA),photoemission electron microscopy(PEEM) and spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy(SPLEEM) as well as ac magnetic susceptibility measurements via MOKE.Key issues are conclusively discussed including the identification of reliable experimental fingerprints about whether a given SRT proceeds via a phase of coexistence or via a cone(canted) phase.We demonstrate how the application of the general theoretical ideas to carefully designed measurements leads to the determination of the most important material parameters in any ultrathin-film SRT,namely,the surface(interface) magnetic anisotropy constants.The review concludes by our personal outline for future promising work on SRTs.
