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Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Experimental Methods for Spin- and Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy Combined with Polarization-Variable Laser
Published on: June 28, 2018
Detecting the spin-polarization of edge states in graphene nanoribbons
Jens Brede1,2, Nestor Merino-Díez1,2, Alejandro Berdonces-Layunta1,2
1Donostia International Physics Center, San Sebastián, E-20018, Spain.
Abstract:
Low dimensional carbon-based materials can show intrinsic magnetism associated to p-electrons in open-shell π-conjugated systems. Chemical design provides atomically precise control of the π-electron cloud, which makes them promising for nanoscale magnetic devices. However, direct verification of their spatially resolved spin-moment remains elusive. Here, we report the spin-polarization of chiral graphene nanoribbons (one-dimensional strips of graphene with alternating zig-zag and arm-chair boundaries), obtained by means of spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy. We extract the energy-dependent spin-moment distribution of spatially extended edge states with π-orbital character, thus beyond localized magnetic moments at radical or defective carbon sites. Guided by mean-field Hubbard calculations, we demonstrate that electron correlations are responsible for the spin-splitting of the electronic structure. Our versatile platform utilizes a ferromagnetic substrate that stabilizes the organic magnetic moments against thermal and quantum fluctuations, while being fully compatible with on-surface synthesis of the rapidly growing class of nanographenes.
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