Quantum turnstile operation of single-molecule magnets

TL;DR

This paper explores the quantum turnstile operation in single-molecule magnets, demonstrating how transient currents can be used to write and read intermediate spin states, considering anisotropy effects and electrode magnetization.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical framework for quantum turnstile operation in single-molecule magnets, including anisotropy effects and electrode magnetization configurations.

Findings

Stepwise writing of intermediate excited states via quantum turnstile.

Transient currents enable reading of molecular spin states.

Mixture of spin states can be prepared with ferromagnetic electrodes.

Abstract

The time-dependent transport through single-molecule magnets coupled to magnetic or non-magnetic electrodes is studied in the framework of the generalized master equation method. We investigate the transient regime induced by the periodic switching of the source and drain contacts. If the electrodes have opposite magnetizations the quantum turnstile operation allows the stepwise writing of intermediate excited states. In turn, the transient currents provide a way to read these states. Within our approach we take into account both the uniaxial and transverse anisotropy. The latter may induce additional quantum tunneling processes which affect the efficiency of the proposed read-and-write scheme. An equally weighted mixture of molecular spin states can be prepared if one of the electrodes is ferromagnetic.