Scientists from the University of Strasbourg, France,
in close collaboration with colleagues from research centers in San
Sebastián, Spain, and Jülich, Germany, have achieved a breakthrough
in detecting the magnetic moments of nanoscale structures. They
succeeded in making the magnetic moments visible with a resolution
down to the atomic level using a scanning tunneling microscope, a
device that has been standard in science for many years. The
researchers made it sensitive to magnetic properties by placing a
small molecule containing a Nickel atom at the microscope tip. The
results published in the current issue of Science opens a novel
path to achieve fundamental insights into atomic-scale structures
and for the design of future atomic-scale devices like nanoscale
storage devices and quantum simulators.
Sensing magnetism in atomic resolution with just a scanning
tunneling microscope
