%0 Journal Article
%A Steinbrecher, M.
%A Sonntag, A.
%A dos Santos Dias, Manuel
%A Bouhassoune, M.
%A Lounis, S.
%A Wiebe, J.
%A Wiesendanger, R.
%A Khajetoorians, A. A.
%T Absence of a spin-signature from a single Ho adatom as probed by spin-sensitive tunneling
%J Nature Communications
%V 7
%@ 2041-1723
%C London
%I Nature Publishing Group
%M FZJ-2016-01602
%P 10454
%D 2016
%X Whether rare-earth materials can be used as single-atom magnetic memory is an ongoing debate in recent literature. Here we show, by inelastic and spin-resolved scanning tunnelling-based methods, that we observe a strong magnetic signal and excitation from Fe atoms adsorbed on Pt(111), but see no signatures of magnetic excitation or spin-based telegraph noise for Ho atoms. Moreover, we observe that the indirect exchange field produced by a single Ho atom is negligible, as sensed by nearby Fe atoms. We demonstrate, using ab initio methods, that this stems from a comparatively weak coupling of the Ho 4f electrons with both tunnelling electrons and substrate-derived itinerant electrons, making both magnetic coupling and detection very difficult when compared to 3d elements. We discuss these results in the context of ongoing disputes and clarify important controversies.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000371135900001
%R 10.1038/ncomms10454
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/281958