Research Update: Molecular electronics: The single-molecule switch and transistor

Victor Geskin,Kai Sotthewes,René Heimbuch,Harold J W Zandvliet,Avijit Kumar

doi:10.1063/1.4855775

Victor Geskin, Kai Sotthewes + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4855775

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Journal: APL Materials	Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
Citations: 33	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Mons, University of Twente

Abstract

In order to design and realize single-molecule devices it is essential to have a good understanding of the properties of an individual molecule. For electronic applications, the most important property of a molecule is its conductance. Here we show how a single octanethiol molecule can be connected to macroscopic leads and how the transport properties of the molecule can be measured. Based on this knowledge we have realized two single-molecule devices: a molecular switch and a molecular transistor. The switch can be opened and closed at will by carefully adjusting the separation between the electrical contacts and the voltage drop across the contacts. This single-molecular switch operates in a broad temperature range from cryogenic temperatures all the way up to room temperature. Via mechanical gating, i.e., compressing or stretching of the octanethiol molecule, by varying the contact's interspace, we are able to systematically adjust the conductance of the electrode-octanethiol-electrode junction. This two-terminal single-molecule transistor is very robust, but the amplification factor is rather limited.

Highlights

Molecular electronics is the research field aiming to design and realize elementary electronic devices that rely on single molecules or a small assembly of molecules.[1]
In order to realize molecular devices it is of utmost importance to have a firm and detailed knowledge of the properties of a single molecule
Since the vast majority of electronic devices rely on transport it is evident that, within the framework of molecular electronics, the most important property of a single molecule is the conductance of a molecule.[2,3,4,5]

Summary

Introduction

Molecular electronics is the research field aiming to design and realize elementary electronic devices that rely on single molecules or a small assembly of molecules.[1]. 1. (a) A STM image of an array of Pt atom chains on a Ge(001) surface recorded at a sample bias of 1.5 V and a tunneling current of 0.5 nA.

Results

Conclusion