Atomic-scale Engineering of Electrodes for Single-molecule Contacts

Overview

Journal Nat Nanotechnol

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2010 Nov 16

PMID 21076405

Citations 21

Authors

Guillaume Schull

Thomas Frederiksen

Andres Arnau

Daniel Sanchez-Portal

Richard Berndt

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The transport of charge through a conducting material depends on the intrinsic ability of the material to conduct current and on the charge injection efficiency at the contacts between the conductor and the electrodes carrying current to and from the material. According to theoretical considerations, this concept remains valid down to the limit of single-molecule junctions. Exploring this limit in experiments requires atomic-scale control of the junction geometry. Here we present a method for probing the current through a single C(60) molecule while changing, one by one, the number of atoms in the electrode that are in contact with the molecule. We show quantitatively that the contact geometry has a strong influence on the conductance. We also find a crossover from a regime in which the conductance is limited by charge injection at the contact to a regime in which the conductance is limited by scattering at the molecule. Thus, the concepts of 'good' and 'bad' contacts, commonly used in macro- and mesoscopic physics, can also be applied at the molecular scale.

Citing Articles

Fluorescence from a single-molecule probe directly attached to a plasmonic STM tip.

Friedrich N, Roslawska A, Arrieta X, Kaiser K, Romeo M, Le Moal E Nat Commun. 2024; 15(1):9733.

PMID: 39523359 PMC: 11551166. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53707-2.

Hot luminescence from single-molecule chromophores electrically and mechanically self-decoupled by tripodal scaffolds.

Rai V, Balzer N, Derenbach G, Holzer C, Mayor M, Wulfhekel W Nat Commun. 2023; 14(1):8253.

PMID: 38086917 PMC: 10716191. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43948-y.

Navigating with chemometrics and machine learning in chemistry.

Joshi P Artif Intell Rev. 2023; :1-26.

PMID: 36714038 PMC: 9870782. DOI: 10.1007/s10462-023-10391-w.

Atomically defined angstrom-scale all-carbon junctions.

Tan Z, Zhang D, Tian H, Wu Q, Hou S, Pi J Nat Commun. 2019; 10(1):1748.

PMID: 30988310 PMC: 6465289. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09793-8.

Electronic transport in planar atomic-scale structures measured by two-probe scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Kolmer M, Brandimarte P, Lis J, Zuzak R, Godlewski S, Kawai H Nat Commun. 2019; 10(1):1573.

PMID: 30952953 PMC: 6450957. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09315-6.

References

Moth-Poulsen K, Bjornholm T . Molecular electronics with single molecules in solid-state devices. Nat Nanotechnol. 2009; 4(9):551-6. DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.176. View

Repp J, Meyer G, Rieder K, Hyldgaard P . Site determination and thermally assisted tunneling in homogenous nucleation. Phys Rev Lett. 2003; 91(20):206102. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.206102. View

Temirov R, Lassise A, Anders F, Tautz F . Kondo effect by controlled cleavage of a single-molecule contact. Nanotechnology. 2011; 19(6):065401. DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/19/6/065401. View

Quek S, Kamenetska M, Steigerwald M, Choi H, Louie S, Hybertsen M . Mechanically controlled binary conductance switching of a single-molecule junction. Nat Nanotechnol. 2009; 4(4):230-4. DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.10. View

Basch H, Cohen R, Ratner M . Interface geometry and molecular junction conductance: geometric fluctuation and stochastic switching. Nano Lett. 2005; 5(9):1668-75. DOI: 10.1021/nl050702s. View

Neel N, Kroger J, Limot L, Frederiksen T, Brandbyge M, Berndt R . Controlled contact to a C60 molecule. Phys Rev Lett. 2007; 98(6):065502. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.065502. View

Limot L, Kroger J, Berndt R, Garcia-Lekue A, Hofer W . Atom transfer and single-adatom contacts. Phys Rev Lett. 2005; 94(12):126102. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.126102. View

Choi S, Kim B, Frisbie C . Electrical resistance of long conjugated molecular wires. Science. 2008; 320(5882):1482-6. DOI: 10.1126/science.1156538. View

Neel N, Kroger J, Limot L, Berndt R . Conductance of oriented C60 molecules. Nano Lett. 2008; 8(5):1291-5. DOI: 10.1021/nl073074i. View

10.

Joachim , Gimzewski , Schlittler , Chavy . Electronic transparence of a single C60 molecule. Phys Rev Lett. 1995; 74(11):2102-2105. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.2102. View

11.

Nemec N, Tomanek D, Cuniberti G . Contact dependence of carrier injection in carbon nanotubes: an ab initio study. Phys Rev Lett. 2006; 96(7):076802. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.076802. View

12.

Schull G, Frederiksen T, Brandbyge M, Berndt R . Passing current through touching molecules. Phys Rev Lett. 2010; 103(20):206803. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.206803. View

13.

Schulze G, Franke K, Gagliardi A, Romano G, Lin C, Rosa A . Resonant electron heating and molecular phonon cooling in single C60 junctions. Phys Rev Lett. 2008; 100(13):136801. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.136801. View

14.

Wang Y, Kroger J, Berndt R, Vazquez H, Brandbyge M, Paulsson M . Atomic-scale control of electron transport through single molecules. Phys Rev Lett. 2010; 104(17):176802. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.176802. View

15.

Folsch S, Hyldgaard P, Koch R, Ploog K . Quantum confinement in monatomic Cu chains on Cu(111). Phys Rev Lett. 2004; 92(5):056803. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.056803. View

16.

Martin C, Ding D, Sorensen J, Bjornholm T, van Ruitenbeek J, van der Zant H . Fullerene-based anchoring groups for molecular electronics. J Am Chem Soc. 2008; 130(40):13198-9. DOI: 10.1021/ja804699a. View