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manganese-12 acetate ( mn@xmath1ac ) is a molecular magnet which has been the subject of much study , both theoretically @xcite and experimentally @xcite , since it was first fabricated by lis in 1980 @xcite .
while most of the research into the properties of mn@xmath0-ac has been focused on its interesting magnetic properties , some work has been done more recently exploring the electronic properties , in particular the conductance through mn@xmath0-ac @xcite .
theoretical predictions have also been made concerning the electronic structure of related mn@xmath0 molecules @xcite .
this study seeks to shed light on how the presence of these molecular magnets on the surface of a gold film can affect the transport properties of the conduction electrons within that gold film .    in order to explore the interactions between the mn@xmath0-ac and the gold film
, one must have a theoretical framework for understanding the interactions .
the theory of weak localization @xcite provides such a framework by quantifying the strengths of the various scattering processes experienced by the conduction electrons .
conduction electrons within a metal can undergo elastic scattering , such as surface scattering or scattering from lattice defects ; inelastic scattering , such as electron - phonon scattering ; spin scattering , such as scattering from magnetic impurities ; or spin - orbit scattering .
each of these processes makes specific contributions to the resistance of the film and each changes in a specific way in the presence of a magnetic field .
weak localization predicts the change in resistance of a metallic film in a perpendicular magnetic field , @xmath2 , due to weak localization effects to have the following dependence @xcite :    @xmath3\label{eq : magnetoresistance}\ ] ]    where @xmath4 is the sheet resistance of the film and @xmath5 are characteristic fields given by    @xmath6    @xmath7    @xmath8    with @xmath9 , @xmath10 , @xmath11 , and @xmath12 being characteristic fields corresponding to elastic , spin - orbit , spin , and inelastic scattering , respectively .
the physical quantity of interest is the scattering time , @xmath13 , associated with each type of scattering process .
the scattering times are related to the scattering fields by    @xmath14    where @xmath15 is the electron charge and @xmath16 is the diffusion constant in two dimensions .
measurement of the magnetoresistance of a metal , then , allows one to determine the scattering times associated with the various scattering processes which the conduction electrons undergo . by simultaneously measuring the magnetoresistance of gold films with and without mn@xmath0-ac on the surface and computing how the characteristic scattering times change , one can determine the types of interactions taking place between the conduction electrons in the gold and the mn@xmath0-ac .
in order to perform the magnetoresistance measurements , a thin film of au was made by thermal evaporation onto a room temperature silicon substrate with the native oxide layer and a 20@xmath17 ge adhesion layer .
a shadow mask , as illustrated in figure  [ fig : au_pattern ] , was used to define a pattern consisting of a single current - carrying strip with eight voltage probes , four on each side of the strip .
this setup allows a four - wire measurement of two different sections of the strip simultaneously and with some redundancy . by placing mn@xmath0-ac on half of the current carrying strip , the magnetoresistance with and without mn@xmath0-ac can be measured simultaneously using the same excitation current and magnetic field .
theoretical fits are obtained using a least - squares fitting method to obtain the best set of the four fitting parameters , @xmath9 , @xmath10 , @xmath12 , and @xmath11 .
schematic of pattern used for au samples . ]
mn@xmath0-ac was placed on the surface of the au film using a simple drop - and - dry technique , similar to the established dip - and - dry technique@xcite .
a solution was made by dissolving 10  mg of mn@xmath0-ac powder in 10  ml of isopropyl alcohol .
five drops of this solution were dropped onto half of the au film with ample drying time between drops .
it was observed by afm ( see figure 1 , ref . ) that this is sufficient to ensure good coverage of the au with mn@xmath0-ac .
samples were then mounted in a dilution refrigerator for measurement .
results shown are from typical samples
.    figure  [ fig:7.8nm_600mk ] shows the measured magnetoresistance for a 7.8  nm au film , with and without mn@xmath0-ac , at a temperature of 600  mk . in the dilution refrigerator used in these experiments , 600  mk
was found to be an easy temperature to reach and stabilize , while lower temperature measurements did not seem to provide any substantial advantage .
the solid curves are fits to the theory of weak localization using equation  [ eq : magnetoresistance ] .
the fitting parameters , @xmath18 , used for the fits in figure  [ fig:7.8nm_600mk ] are listed in table  [ tab : characteristic - fields-78 ] .
also listed are the characteristic scattering times calculated using equation  [ eq : h_tau ] .
the elastic scattering time is increased by approximately a factor of two if mn@xmath0 is present .
this indicates a decrease in the amount of elastic scattering , consistent with a change in the surface which reduces the amount of surface scattering .
the inelastic and spin - orbit scattering are essentially unchanged , while the spin scattering time is reduced by around an order of magnitude .
this indicates a significant increase in the amount of spin scattering taking place .
the decrease in elastic scattering and increase in spin scattering are consistent with a picture in which electrons which would have scattered from the surface of the au film are instead entering the mn@xmath0-ac molecules and undergoing spin scattering , most likely from the mn atoms within the molecules .
magnetoresistance of 7.8 nm au film at 600 mk .
solid curves are fits to theory . ]
.[tab : characteristic - fields-78]characteristic fields and scattering times for 7.8 nm gold film at 600 mk . [ cols="^,^,^",options="header " , ]
it has been shown that the presence on mn@xmath0-ac on the surface of a thin au film causes significant changes in the magnetoresistance of the au film .
fitting of the experimental data to the predictions of the theory of weak localization allows characterization of the types of changes taking place .
in particular , there is an enhancement of the spin scattering of the conduction electrons , coupled with a reduction in the elastic scattering .
this is consistent with electrons entering the mn@xmath0-ac and undergoing spin scattering , rather than simply scattering from the surface of the au film .
this is the first time that experimental evidence has been seen indicating that a surface layer of molecular magnets can be used as scattering centers to change the electron transport properties of a metallic film .
we explore the electronic interactions between a thin gold film and a surface layer of the molecular magnet mn@xmath0-acetate . 
 magnetoresistance measurements of the gold allow characterization of the interactions by comparison with the theoretical predictions of weak localization . 
 we find that the presence of mn@xmath0-acetate on the surface of the gold film leads to a reduction in elastic scattering while increasing the spin scattering of the conduction electrons . 
 this is the first experimental evidence of molecular magnets being used as scattering centers for an adjacent metallic film .