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3|2012 Research in Jülich 21 properties and the electronic properties of the molecules. In addition, it some- times matters where exactly the contact takes place on a three-dimensional mol- ecule structure. The reactions of the magnetic molecule may be different de- pending on the place of contacting, and is entirely incalculable unless it can be located precisely. Overcoming this tech- nical hurdle is what Kögerler aims to do. He wants to find out how to exactly place the contacting of the magnetic molecule. In this way, the reactions of the central molecule to changes in the voltage should be reproducible. The ad- vantage of Kögerler and his team is that the metal-oxide nanomolecules they use are proving to be more stable than con- ventional magnetic molecules tested elsewhere. “We use materials known as polyoxo- metalates – stable molecular molybde- num and tungsten oxides. We are able to adjust their structures and electronic states very precisely,” says Kögerler. The objective of the researchers is to chemi- cally attach precisely positioned func- tional groups to these molecules. Ideally, these “adhesive molecules”, as Kögerler refers to them, determine neither the electronic properties nor the magnetic properties of the central molecule. “We are preparing the ‘handshake’, so to speak, between the magnetic molecules and the electrodes,” is how Kögerler de- scribes his approach. If all goes accord- ing to the team’s plans, the connecting elements will then easily make contact with conducting as well as non-conduct- ing components. Paul Kögerler and his colleagues are focusing on four molecular groups, but he is not yet prepared to reveal their names. At the moment, transistors of the future are fiercely fought over. “For the time being, we are investigating all four candidates in parallel in different working groups,” says Kögerler, explain- ing their strategy. “This gives us at least two years to bring together our two strands of research: the functionality of the magnetic molecules on the one hand and their possible integration into a tran- sistor layout on the other hand.” “This kind of major project can only be implemented in an excellent research environment such as ours at Aachen and Jülich,” says Kögerler, who is head of a group for molecular magnetism at PGI-6 and a professor of inorganic chemistry at RWTH Aachen University. “The nano spintronics cluster tool* at PGI-6 in par- ticular allows us to produce and examine our molecules and their functional groups with unprecedented precision by means of various analysis and prepara- tion methods.” As part of JARA-FIT**, the 41-year-old has been examining molecular magnetic matter since 2006. By the end of the year, his team is expected to grow to 20 members. If the combined research ef- forts can reliably contact the molecules by 2017, their application in transistors could then be tested. And being ready for practical tests is a prerequisite for Kögerler’s application for follow-up fund- ing: the ERC Proof of Concept Grant. :: EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS | Microelectronics The ERC Starting Grant for excellent early-career scientists in Europe pro- vides funding to the tune of up to € 1.5 million over a period of five years. It aims to support pioneering and visionary basic research that transcends the boundaries to applied research, those between the classical disciplines, and those between research and technology. RWTH Aachen University acts as the ad- ministrative host institution for Kögerl- er’s ERC Starting Grant. ERC Starting Grant Man against machine in 2011: Ken Jennings (left) and Brad Rutter (right), the most suc- cessful players in Jeopardy! history, did not stand a chance against the IBM computer named Watson. Planned charge transfer experiment: two tunnelling microscope tips touch two metallic contact clusters (greyish blue) synthetically attached to the magnetic molecule (yellowish green). The molecule rests on a gate electrode that controls the molecular energy states. * Jülich’s nano spintronics cluster tool combines several functions in one machine: ultrathin lay- ers and shapes can be produced from individu- al atomic layers, combined and analysed in in- dividual steps without removing the samples from the protecting high vacuum. In addition, the device can also apply an electric voltage to the samples. ** Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, Fundamen- tals of Future Information Technology section Peter Grünberg Institute JARA-FIT YouTube: IBM and the Jeopardy Challenge