We perform low-temperature magneto-conductance measurements
on
Cu and Au thin films with adsorbed chiral molecules and investigate
their phase-coherent transport properties. Upon adsorption of chiral
molecules, the spin–orbit coupling strength in Cu decreases
and the Au films become ferromagnetic as evident from weak localization
and antilocalization data. A theoretical model indicates that anisotropy
in the molecular tilt angles, provided that the chiral molecules act
as magnetic moments, induces a nonvanishing magnetic exchange interaction,
causing changes in the spin–orbit coupling strength in Cu and
Au. Our work adds a new viewpoint to the plethora of unique phenomena
emerging from chiral molecule adsorption on materials.