SFB 767:  Controlled Nanosystems: Interaction and Interfacing to the Macroscale

• Subject Area: Physics
• Term: from 2008 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 32152442

• Final Report Year: 2020

Final Report Abstract

The field of nanoscience has significantly matured during the last two decades. Perspectives for applications based on nanostructures have emerged which rely crucially on a precise control of the interaction between nanostructures or the influence of external fields. Our SFB has contributed significantly to the progress in nanoscience by developing control mechanisms for individual nanosystems in the past twelve years. We have shown that achieving control by structural, optical or electric means is a promising route to an advanced understanding of mechanical, electronic, and magnetic properties of nanosystems. Our research program was organized around these topics. The first area covered structural and mechanical properties and here the investigations have focused on coherent mechanical excitations of membranes and beams controlled by electromagnetic fields. One of our main findings is the reveal of the origin of mechanical damping in nanomembranes and the coherent control of a nanobeam. Furthermore, we have investigated the control of heat transport by temperature gradients. In the second research area on optical and electronic properties the main goal was to use the potential of optical control of nanosystems. An unprecedented level of control was achieved experimentally by two-color excitations of molecules and theoretically of spin-qubit candidates. Further major progress concerns the stability of colloidal quantum dots, their control on ultrafast time scales and in magnetic fields as well as direct detection of the photonic vacuum. Furthermore, in this area we have developed an ultrafast control of the coupling between a tunnel current and photons. The third project area, electronic and magnetic transport properties, has elaborated on the control of electrons in single molecular junctions or quantum point contacts and the magnetization in nanostructures. As highlights we have e.g. shown how to control single spins in molecules, single electrons by voltage pulses, vibrational modes by current, and domain walls by thermal gradients. In the course of the program, we have continued these research aspects concentrating on the most promising aspects and developed fine-tuned control schemes like electrical and optical field effects on mechanical and magnetic nanosystems, molecules and semiconductor quantum dots. Furthermore, using insights of the first funding periods we have extended our scope to topics such as ultrafast manipulation of electronic tunneling currents and engineered heat flow in nanocontacts.

Publications

• Phonon assisted current noise in molecular junctions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 136601 (2009)
  F. Haupt, T. Novotny, and W. Belzig
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.103.136601)
• Sub-cycle switch-on of ultrastrong light-matter interaction, Nature 458, 178 (2009)
  G. Günter, A. A. Anappara, J. Hees, A. Sell, G. Biasiol, L. Sorba, S. De Liberato, C. Ciuti, A. Tredicucci, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Huber
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07838)
• A passive terahertz radiation device, European Patent EP2422414, WO/2010142313 (2010)
  T. Dekorsy, G. Klatt, K. Huska, G. Bastian
  
• Imaging of domain wall inertia in permalloy half-ring nanowires by time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 067201 (2010)
  J. Rhensius, L. Heyne, D. Backes, S. Krzyk, L. J Heyderman, L. Joly, F. Nolting, and M. Kläui
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.104.067201)
• Nonadiabatic spin-Torque investigated using thermally activated magnetic domain wall dynamics, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 056601 (2010)
  M. Eltschka, M. Wötzel, J. Rhensius, S. Krzyk, U. Nowak, M. Kläui, T. Kasama, R. E. Dunin- Borkowski, L. J. Heyderman, H. J. van Driel, and R. A. Duine
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.105.056601)
• Synthesis of a single cycle of light with compact erbium-doped fibre technology, Nature Photonics. 4, 33 (2010)
  G. Krauss, S. Lohss, T. Hanke, A. Sell, S. Eggert, R. Huber, and A. Leitenstorfer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.258)
• A tunable twoimpurity Kondo system in an atomic point contact, Nature Physics 7, 901 (2011)
  J. Bork, Y. Zhang, L. Diekhöner, L. Borda, P. Simon, J. Kroha, P. Wahl, and K. Kern
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2076)
• Benzenedithiol: A broad-range single-channel molecular conductor, Nano Lett. 11, 3734 (2011)
  Y. Kim, T. Pietsch, A. Erbe, W. Belzig, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/nl201777m)
• Coherent terahertz control of antiferromagnetic spin waves, Nature Photonics 5, 31 (2011)
  T. Kampfrath, A. Sell, G. Klatt, A. Pashkin, S. Mährlein, T. Dekorsy, M. Wolf, M. Fiebig, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Huber
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2010.259)
• Domain wall motion by the magnonic spin Seebeck effect, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 027205 (2011)
  D. Hinzke and U. Nowak
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.107.027205)
• Selective NIR chromophores: Bis-Pyrrolopyrrole Cyanines, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 1406 (2011)
  G. M. Fischer, E. Daltrozzo, A. Zumbusch
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201004829)
• Subharmonic resonant optical excitation of confined acoustic modes in a free-standing semiconductor membrane at GHz frequencies with a highrepetition-rate femtosecond laser, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 077401 (2011)
  A. Bruchhausen, R. Gebs, F. Hudert, D. Issenmann, G. Klatt, A. Bartels, O. Schecker, R. Waitz, A. Erbe, E. Scheer, J.-R. Huntzinger, A. Mlayah, and T. Dekorsy
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.106.077401)
• Charge transport characteristics of diarylethene photoswitching singlemolecule junctions, Nano Lett. 12, 3736 (2012)
  Y. Kim, T. J. Hellmuth, D. Sysoiev, F. Pauly, T. Pietsch, J. Wolf, A. Erbe, T. Huhn, U. Groth, U. E. Steiner, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/nl3015523)
• A current-driven singleatom memory, Nature Nanotech. 8, 645 (2013)
  C. Schirm, M. Matt, F. Pauly, J. C. Cuevas, P. Nielaba, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.170)
• Fundamental quantum noise mapping with tunnelling microscopes tested at surface structures of subatomic lateral size, Nanoscale 5, 99787 (2013)
  M. Herz, S. Bouvron, E. Cavar, M. Fonin, W. Belzig, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1039/c3nr02216a)
• Heat dissipation in atomic-scale junctions, Nature 498, 2098 (2013)
  W. Lee, K. Kim, W. Jeong, L. A. Zotti, F. Pauly, J. C. Cuevas, and P. Reddy
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12183)
• Temperature and magnetic field dependence of a Kondo system in the weak coupling regime, Nature Comm. 4, 2110 (2013)
  Y. Zhang, S. Kahle, T. Herden, C. Stroh, M. Mayor, U. Schlickum, M. Ternes, P. Wahl, and K. Kern
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3110)
• Ground-state cooling of a carbon nanomechanical resonator by spin-polarized current, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 047201 (2014)
  P. Stadler, W. Belzig, and G. Rastelli
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.113.047201)
• Lateral and temporal dependence of the transport through an atomic gold contact under light irradiation: signature of propagating surface plasmon polaritons, Nano Lett. 14, 5218 (2014)
  D. Benner, J. Boneberg, P. Nürnberger, R. Waitz, P. Leiderer, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/nl502165y)
• Over-bias light emission due to higher order quantum noise of a tunnel junction, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 066801 (2014)
  F. Xu, C. Holmqvist, and W. Belzig
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.113.066801)
• Role of entropy in domain wall motion in thermal gradients, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 097201 (2014)
  F. Schlickeiser, U. Ritzman, D. Hinzke, and U. Nowak
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.113.097201)
• Ultrafast optical control of orbital and spin dynamics in a solid-state defect, Science 345, 1333 (2014)
  L. C. Bassett, F. J. Heremans, D. J. Christle, C. G. Yale, G. Burkard, B. B. Buckley, and D. D. Awschalom
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255541)
• Direct sampling of electric-field vacuum fluctuations, Science 350, 420 (2015)
  C. Riek, D. Seletskiy, A. S. Moskalenko, J.-F. Schmidt, P. Krauspe, S. Eckart, S. Eggert, G. Burkard, and A. Leitenstorfer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac9788)
• Highly ordered surface self-assembly of Fe4 single molecule magnets, Nano Lett. 15, 4546 (2015)
  P. Erler, P. Schmitt, N. Barth, A. Irmler, S. Bouvron, T. Huhn, U. Groth, F. Pauly, L. Gragnaniello, and M. Fonin
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01120)
• Paraxial theory of direct electro-optic sampling of the quantum vacuum, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 263601 (2015)
  A.S. Moskalenko, C. Riek, D. Seletskiy, G. Burkard, and A. Leitenstorfer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.115.263601)
• Ground-state cooling of a mechanical oscillator by noiseinterference in Andreev-reflections, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 197202 (2016)
  P. Stadler, W. Belzig, and G. Rastelli
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.117.197202)
• Optical manipulation of the Berry phase in a solid-state spin qubit, Nature Photonics 10, 184 (2016)
  C. G. Yale, J. F. Heremans, B. B. Zhou, A. Auer, G. Burkard, and D. D. Awschalom
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2015.278)
• Shot noise of 1,4-benzenedithiol single-molecule junctions, Nano Lett. 16, 1803 (2016)
  M. A. Karimi, S. G. Bahoosh, M. Herz, R. Hayakawa, F. Pauly, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04848)
• Sub-cycle optical phase control of nanotunnelling in the single-electron regime, Nature Photonics 10, 667 (2016)
  T. Rybka, M. Ludwig, M. F. Schmalz, V. Knittel, D. Brida, and A. Leitenstorfer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.174)
• Correlation driven transport asymmetries through coupled spins in a tunnel junction, Nature Comm. 8, 14119 (2017)
  M. Münks, P. Jacobson, M. Ternes, and K. Kern
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14119)
• Quantized thermal transport in single-atom junctions, Science 355, 1192 (2017)
  L. Cui, W. Jeong, S. Hur, M. Matt, J. C. Klöckner, F. Pauly, P. Nielaba, J. C. Cuevas, E. Meyhofer, and P. Reddy
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam6622)
• Subcycle quantum electrodynamics, Nature 541, 376 (2017)
  C. Riek, P. Sulzer, M. Seeger, A.S. Moskalenko, G. Burkard, D. V. Seletskiy, and A. Leitenstorfer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21024)
• Efficient emission enhancement of single CdSe/CdS/PMMA quantum dots through controlled near-field coupling to plasmonic bullseye resonators, Nano Lett. 18, 5396 (2018)
  F. Werschler, B. Lindner, C. Hinz, F. Conradt, P. Gumbsheimer, Y. Behovits, C. Negele, T. de Roo, O. Tzang, S. Mecking, A. Leitenstorfer, D. V. Seletskiy
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01533)
• Magnon detection using a ferroic collinear multilayer spin valve, Nature Comm. 9, 1089 (2018)
  J. Cramer, F. Fuhrmann, U. Ritzmann, V. Gall, T. Niizeki, R. Ramos, Z. Qiu, D. Hou, T. Kikkawa, J. Sinova, U. Nowak, E. Saitoh, and M. Kläui
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03485-5)
• Collective dynamics of strain-coupled nanomechanical pillar resonators, Nature Comm. 10, 5246 (2019)
  J. Doster, S. Hoenl, H. Lorenz, P. Paulitschke, and E. M. Weig
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13309-9)
• Spatial modulation of nonlinear flexural vibrations of membrane resonators, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 154301 (2019)
  F. Yang, F. Rochau, J. S. Huber, A. Brieussel, G. Rastelli, E. M. Weig, and E. Scheer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.122.154301)
• Subcycle squeezing of light from a time flow perspective, Nature Physics 15, 960 (2019)
  M. Kizmann, T. Lucena de M. Guedes, D. V. Seletskiy, A. S. Moskalenko, A. Leitenstorfer, and G. Burkard
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0560-2)
• Thermal conductance of single-molecule junctions, Nature 572, 628 (2019)
  L. Cui, S. Hur, Z. A. Akbar, J. C. Klöckner, W. Jeong, F. Pauly, S.-Y. Jang, P. Reddy, and E. Meyhofer
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1420-z)
• Thermal skyrmion diffusion used in a reshuffler device, Nature Nanotech. 14, 658 (2019)
  J. Zázvorka, F. Jakobs, D. Heinze, N. Keil, S. Kromin, S. Jaiswal, K. Litzius, G. Jakob, P. Virnau, D. Pinna, K. Everschor-Sitte, L. Rózsa, A. Donges, U. Nowak, and M. Kläui
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0436-8)
• Dynamical Coulomb Blockade as a Local Probe for Quantum Transport, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 156803 (2020)
  J. Senkpiel, J. C. Klöckner, M. Etzkorn, S. Dambach, B. Kubala, W. Belzig, A. Levy Yeyati, J. C. Cuevas, F. Pauly, J. Ankerhold, C. R. Ast, K. Kern
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.156803)
• Sub-femtosecond electron transport in a nanoscale gap, Nature Physics 16, 341 (2020)
  M. Ludwig, G. Aguirregabiria, F. Ritzkowsky, T. Rybka, D. C. Marinica, J. Aizpurua, A. G. Borisov, A. Leitenstorfer, and D. Brida
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0745-8)