Tunable Finite-Sized Chains to Control Magnetic Relaxation

The magnetic dynamics of low-dimensional iron ion chains have been studied with regards to the tunable finite-sized chain length using iron phthalocyanine thin films. The deposition temperature varies the diffusion length during thin film growth by limiting the average crystal size in the range from 40 to 110 nm. Using a method common for single chain magnets, the magnetic relaxation time for each chain length is determined from temporal remanence data and fit to a stretched exponential form in the temperature range below 5 K, the onset for magnetic hysteresis. A temperature-independent master curve is generated by scaling the remanence by its relaxation time to fit the energy barrier for spin reversal, and the single spin relaxation time. The energy barrier of 95 K is found to be independent of the chain length. In contrast, the single spin relaxation time increases with longer chains from under 1 ps to 800 ps. We show that thin films provide the nano-architecture to control magnetic relaxation and a testbed to study finite-size effects in low-dimensional magnetic systems.