Growth of Self-Assembled Monolayers directly on a ferromagnetic metal surface

Spin-Electronics (spintronics),is a relatively new field of research based on the utilization in electronic transport of the spin of the electrons in addition to their charge. Traditionally, inorganic metals, insulators and semiconductors have been used as the main components in spintronic devices. However, this situation is currently evolving and a new field called Organic Spintronics is rapidly emerging. When compared to traditional inorganic materials, molecules not only have the traditional advantages inherited from organic electronics field: monodispersity, variability, low-density, flexibility, transparency, large scale processability and low-cost, but also the inherent weak spin–orbit coupling and hyperfine interactions found in organic systems that offers the possibility of preserving spin– coherence over times much longer than in conventional metals or semiconductors. Moreover, molecular materials should not be considered as a simple spin transmission media. In fact, as it has been very recently shown, they can also offer spintronics tailoring opportunities unachievable or unthinkable with inorganic materials. The molecular structure, the local geometry at the molecule/electrode interface and, more importantly, the ferromagnetic molecule/metal hybridization can strongly influence interfacial spin properties, for example, going from spin polarization enhancement to its sign control.[1]