Acoustomagnetic pulse experiments in LiNbO3/Mn12 hybrids -: art. no. 012503

We report here on the influence of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on the magnetization of a Mn-12-acetate single crystal. The crystal was mounted on the surface of a piezoelectric LiNbO3 substrate containing an interdigital transducer for the excitation of SAWs. The magnetization of the crystal was measured using a rf superconducting quantum interference device with a time resolution of 1 mu s. The piezoelectric material was excited by SAW pulses of different frequencies produced by applying microwave pulses to the transducer. Our data show that molecular magnets onto the LiNbO3 surface can be used as very sensitive detectors of the SAW frequency and intensity. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.