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Description
The hybridized layer at the interfaces between a magnetic metal and another material represents one of the important low dimensional paradigms offering a method for tailoring magnetic properties of ultrathin metallic layers. In the case of molecular semiconductors the hybridization between the molecular p orbitals and the d orbitals of the interfacial metallic atoms modifies both the molecules and the interfacial atomic layer of the metal. This manifests itself in significantly altered low-temperature magnetic properties of layered metal/molecules heterostructures [1–3].
Although the influence of organic molecules on the magnetic properties of thin metallic films has been investigated for decades [1,2,4,5], a precise understanding of the magnetism and hybridization at the interface is still lacking. We provide further insight into the physics of such interfaces through systematic investigations of the magnetic dynamics in layered structures composed of molecular semiconductors and cobalt using ultrafast magneto-optical spectroscopy. Combined with the development of a theoretical model, we unveil [6] the existence of an independent magnetic component at the interface, which could not be extracted using the standard static methods. We also show that the properties of this component can be effectively modulated by short optical pulses [7] enabling control over the direction of magnetization in the cobalt layer [8].
[1] K. Bairagi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 247203 (2015).
[2] T. Moorsom et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 125311 (2014).
[3] M. Benini et al., Nat Commun 16, 5807 (2025).
[4] Z. H. Xiong et al., Nature 427, 821 (2004).
[5] S. Sanvito, Nature Phys 6, 562 (2010).
[6] J. Strohsack et al., Science Advances 11, eadw2243 (2025).
[7] M. Benini et al., Nat Commun 16, 7297 (2025).
[8] S. Ozdemir et al., Advanced Materials n/a, e19192.