Multi-terminal quantum transport through a single benzene molecule: Evidence of a molecular transistor

Abstract

We explore multi-terminal quantum transport through a single benzene molecule attached to metallic electrodes. A simple tight-binding model is used to describe the system and all the calculations are done based on the Green function formalism. With a brief description of two-terminal quantum transport, we present a detailed study of three-terminal transport properties through the benzene molecule to reveal the actual mechanism of electron transport. Here we address numerical results which describe multi-terminal conductances, reflection probabilities and current–voltage characteristics. Most significantly we observe that, the molecular system where the benzene molecule is attached to three terminals can be operated as a transistor, and we call it a molecular transistor. This aspect can be utilized in designing nano-electronic circuits and our investigation may provide a basic framework to study electron transport in any complicated multi-terminal quantum system.