QMOLESR - Addressing molecular spin qubits by ESR-STM

The emergence of ESR-STM has recently opened new perspectives on the coherent manipulation of individual spin qubits. However, to date ESR-STM experiments are essentially focused on individual magnetic atoms deposited on MgO/Ag(100). The insulating layer of MgO seems to be an essential ingredient to obtain addressable and functional single atom qubits, e.g. to fix the spin along certain directions and enable ways for its manipulation. The aim of this project is to go beyond the current restriction of ESR-STM on individual atomic qubits on MgO layers and expand its usage towards robust qubits in other environments. This will be done by using metallo-organic complexes whose organic structure is designed in such a way to play the role of the MgO layer. ESR will be performed on individual magnetic molecules and their potential as molecular spin qubits in contact with metals will be probed. The overall methodology of the project is divided into three main objectives: (1) demonstrate ESR-STM on magnetic molecules; (2) demonstrate ESR-STM on magnetic molecules in direct contact with a metallic substrate and use molecules as magnetic sensors; (3) protection of spin coherence by superconductivity. The impact of the project goes beyond the purely scientific interest and it extends to the industrial sectors of technology and telecommunications. This is because it actually opens the possibility of implementing spintronic devices aimed at storage and manipulation of quantum information in which the individual qubits can be concretely addressed thanks to some type of electrode. Moreover, the coherent control of quantum states is currently under large demand in Europe. In this regard, the highly specialized expertise acquired by the researcher thanks to this project will clearly be an added value in the preparation of his future career. In conjunction with its scientific aim, QMOLESR is designed to train an excellent, independent researcher who will develop his research career.