Unidirectional electric field-induced spin-state switching in spin crossover based microelectronic devices
Résumé
We report on a molecular spin-state switching phenomenon induced by an electric field in micrometric objects of the [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)](BF4) spin crossover complex, organized between interdigitated electrodes. By applying an electric field step of 40 kV/cm at temperatures within the thermal hysteresis region of the first-order spin transition, the iron(II) ions are switched from the metastable high spin to the stable low spin state obtaining a rather incomplete transition but perfectly reversible by heating. A model based on the interaction between the electric field and the electric dipolar moment of spin crossover complexes, grasps the main features of the experimental data.