Micro-Hall magnetometry studies of thermally assisted and pure quantum tunneling in single molecule magnet Mn₁₂-acetate

We have studied the crossover between thermally assisted and pure quantum tunneling in single crystals of high spin (S = 10) uniaxial single molecule magnet Mn₁₂ using micro-Hall effect magnetometry. Magnetic hysteresis experiments have been used to investigate the energy levels that determine the magnetization reversal as a function of magnetic field and temperature. These experiments demonstrate that the crossover occurs in a narrow ( ∼ 0.1 K) or broad ( ∼ 1 K) temperature interval depending on the magnitude and direction of the applied field. For low external fields applied parallel to the easy axis, the energy levels that dominate the tunneling shift abruptly with temperature. In the presence of a transverse field and/or large longitudinal field these energy levels change with temperature more gradually. A comparison of our experimental results with model calculations of this crossover suggests that there are additional mechanisms that enhance the tunneling rate of low-lying energy levels and broaden the crossover for small transverse fields.