ERC Advanced Grant for Herre van der Zant
FOM workgroup leader professor Herre van der Zant (TU Delft) recently received an ERC Advanced Grant from the European Research Council for his research 'Controlling Molecular Spin at the Molecular Scale'. An ERC Advanced Grant is awarded for five years to outstanding scientists who lead an independent team and an ambitious programme. The grant is worth up to 2,5 million euros.
Research information
A short summary detailing the contents of Prof. Van der Zant's research is available below.
"Magnetic molecules in principle enable radically new approaches by using the spin degree of freedom, but their incorporation in solid-state devices has been challenging. Consequently, present-day nanotechnology does not exploit the wide range of functionality that they offer.
Because of their orbital structure, molecules provide novel functionality not realizable in conventional semiconductor-based electronics. One exciting new possibility is that of spintronics: electronic devices using the electron spin to carry and manipulate information. So far, spintronics has been explored in metals and semiconductors.
Magnetic molecules in principle enable radically new approaches in using the spin degree of freedom for storing and reading information, but their incorporation in solid-state devices is a daunting task. In this ERC project, the fields of molecular magnetism, molecular electronics and nanotechnology will be merged, resulting in the fabrication of nanodevices containing individual magnetic molecules or magnetic nanoparticles.
Spin transistors will be built in which the electric current through the individual molecule or nanoparticle is sensitive to its spin properties. The molecular complexes of interest are single-molecule magnets, mixed-valence molecules and clusters and spin-crossover compounds.
A pioneering step in understanding the interplay between molecular magnetism and quantum transport in molecular junctions will be taken, thereby establishing new strategies for in-situ spin-state control. The results therefore form a prerequisite for future use of small ensembles or even individual magnetic molecules as functional building blocks in electronic circuitry."
More information
For more information, please contact Prof. Herre van der Zant via email, telephone +31 (0)15 278 77 74 or visit the web page of the group Molecular Electronics and Devices.