In this work two ideas of using individual metal organic molecules in applications for data storage are presented. On the one hand, metal-free phthalocyanine is used to form a GMR contact consisting of one single molecule leading to the world smallest magnetic sensor. On the other hand, chromium acetylacetonate was used to study the properties of magnetic molecules adsorbed on surfaces in order to build magnetic bits for date storage.

Major development efforts in organic materials research has grown for an array of applications. Organic spintronics, in particular, has flourished in the area of organic magneto-transport. Reflecting the main avenues of advancement in this arena, this volume explores spin injection and manipulation in organic spin valves, the magnetic field effect in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), the spin transport effect in relation to spin manipulation, organic magnets as spin injection electrodes in organic spintronics devices, the coherent control of spins in organic devices using the technique of electronically detected magnetic resonance, and the possibility of using organic spin valves as sensors.

Nowadays, the development of magnetic data storage devices technique faces fundamental limitations which lead to a slow-down of the increase of areal storage density. Therefore, magnetoelectric coupling which allows to change the magnetic state of matter by means of an electric field attracted significant interest. In this work, scanning tunneling microscopy was used to show for the first time that magnetic information can be written on the nanometer scale by the application of electric fields.

This thesis deals with the nonlinear aspects of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) as magnetic meta-atoms. Such meta-atoms are usually resonant structures that constitute the basic building blocks of a metamaterial with the purpose of giving the material unconventional magnetic properties. Due to their intrinsic nonlinearity, SQUIDs exhibit a number of phenomena such as frequency tunability and multi-stability that make them attractive as controllable meta-atoms.

This work presents the design and commissioning of a new low-temperature Scanning Tunnelling Microscope equipped with an innovative light collection setup using an integrated, micro-fabricated mirror tip. Commissioning experiments demonstrate the capabilities of this new instrument and reproduce known effects regarding gap plasmons on noble-metal surfaces. Furthermore, different contrasts in the plasmon-mediated light emission from Cobalt nano-islands on a Copper (111) substrate are reported.

In this work, magnetic atoms on surfaces are studied with low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Motivated by the idea to use single atoms as magnetic bits, the factors that allow or prevent long-term stability of their magnetic moments are investigated. Lifetimes of up to several minutes can be achieved for the magnetic moments of holmium atoms on a Pt(111) surface, resulting from the combined symmetries of the system. Corresponding theoretical calculations are presented and evaluated.

Quantum sensing is a vast and emerging field enabling in-situ studies of quantum systems and hence the development of quantum hybrid systems. This work creates the fundament of direct superconducting-magnetic hybrid systems by developing a local microwave sensing scheme and studying the influence of a static magnetic field on a superconducting qubit. Finally, a proof-of-principle hybrid system is demonstrated, which opens the path towards superconducting-magnetic quantum circuits.

In this book, hybrid systems based on yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG), three dimensional microwave cavity resonators, and superconducting transmon qubits, are investigated by continuous wave and pulsed microwave spectroscopy. Limitations to the magnetic linewidth in the quantum regime are identified and coherent exchange between a magnon and a superconducting qubit are demonstrated. Finally, a first step towards a strongly coupled hybrid system containing all three components is demonstrated.

Hybrid quantum circuits interfacing rare earth spin ensembles with microwave resonators are a promising approach for application as coherent quantum memory and frequency converter. In this thesis, hybrid circuits based on Er and Nd ions doped into Y?SiO? and YAlO? crystals are investigated by optical and on-chip microwave spectroscopy. Coherent strong coupling between the microwave resonator and spin ensemble as well as a multimode memory for weak coherent microwave pulses are demonstrated.

This work describes the experimental study of electron-boson interactions in superconductors by means of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy performed with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at temperatures below 1 K. This new approach allows the direct measurement of the Eliashberg function of conventional superconductors as demonstrated on lead (Pb) and niobium (Nb). Preparative experiments on unconventional iron-pnictides are presented in the end.