Evidence for spin injection in a single metallic nanoparticle: A step towards nanospintronics

We have fabricated nanometer-sized magnetic tunnel junctions using a conductive tip nanoindentation technique in order to study the transport properties of a single metallic nanoparticle. Coulomb blockade effects show clear evidence for single-electron tunneling through a single 2.5nm Au cluster. The observed magnetoresistance is the signature of spin conservation during the transport process through a nonmagnetic cluster.