Molecule-induced interface states dominate charge transport in Si–alkyl–metaljunctions

Abstract

Semiconductor–molecule–metal junctions consisting of alkanethiol monolayers self-assembled on bothp+ and n− type highly doped Si(111) wires contacted with a10 µm Au wire in a crossed-wire geometry are examined. Low temperature transportmeasurements reveal that molecule-induced semiconductor interface states control chargetransport across these systems. Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy also highlights thestrong contribution of the induced interface states to the observed charge transport.