Kubo spins in nanoscale aluminum grains: A muon spin relaxation study

Nimrod Bachar, Aviad Levy, Thomas Prokscha, Andreas Suter, Elvezio Morenzoni, Zaher Salman, Guy Deutscher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report muon spin relaxation rate measurements on films composed of aluminum grains having a size of a few nm, with a large energy level splitting of the order of 100 K. The films range from weakly metallic to insulating. In the insulating case, the low-temperature relaxation rate is consistent with the presence of single electron spins in grains having an odd number of electrons, known as Kubo spins. The relaxation rate temperature dependence follows an activation law having an energy scale in agreement with the average level splitting. In weakly metallic films, inter-grain junction spins may contribute substantially to the smaller relaxation rate.

Original languageEnglish
Article number024424
Number of pages9
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume101
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Jan 2020
Externally publishedYes

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