Nonmechanical conductance switching in a molecular tunnel junction

Adva Baratz, Roi Baer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present a molecular junction composed of a donor (polyacetylene strands) and an acceptor (malononitrile) connected together via a benzene ring and coupled weakly to source and drain electrodes on each side, for which a gate electrode induces intramolecular charge transfer, switching reversibly the character of conductance. Using a new brand of density functional theory, for which orbital energies are similar to the quasiparticle energies, we show that the junction displays a single, gate-tunable differential conductance channel in a wide energy range. The gate field must align parallel to the displacement vector between donors and acceptor to affect their potential difference; for strong enough fields, spontaneous intramolecular electron transfer occurs. This event radically affects conductance, reversing the charge of carriers, enabling a spin-polarized current channel. We discuss the physical principles controlling the operation of the junction and find interplay of quantum interference, charging, Coulomb blockade, and electron-hole binding energy effects. We expect that this switching behavior is a generic property for similar donor-acceptor systems of sufficient stability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)498-502
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume3
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 16 Feb 2012

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Nonmechanical conductance switching in a molecular tunnel junction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this