Photon assisted current in molecular nanojunctions with novel types of contacts

Abstract

We propose new approaches to coherent control of transport via molecular junctions, which bypasses several of the hurdles to experimental realization of optically manipulated nanoelectronics noted in the previous literature. The first method is based on the application of intrinsic semiconductor contacts and optical frequencies below the semiconductor bandgap. Our analytical theory predicts a new phenomenon, referred to as coherent destruction of induced tunnelling, which extends the phenomenon of coherent destruction of tunnelling frequently discussed in the previous literature. We also propose to use graphene electrodes as a platform for effective photon assisted tunneling through molecular conduction nanojunctions. We predict dramatic increasing currents evaluated at side-band energies ∼nħω (n is a whole number) related to the modification of graphene gapless spectrum under the action of external electromagnetic field of frequency ω. Our results illustrate the potential of semiconductor and graphene contacts in coherent control of photocurrent.