Plasmon-enhanced magneto-optical detection of single-molecule magnets

Abstract

Here we report on nanoarchitectures composed of molecular magnets deposited on optical nanoantennas. We demonstrate a significantly boosted magneto-optical detection of a thin film of a terbium(III) bis-phthalocianinato (TbPc₂) single-molecule magnet and we track down the origin of this enhancement to nanoantenna effects at the optical level. This finding suggests that the vast knowledge on plasmon-enhanced spectroscopies can be readily extended to magneto-optics, thus paving the way to strong magneto-optical enhancements for the readout of nanometric devices embedding single-molecule magnets.