C02 – Controlling the electronic transport through molecular systems

Funding period: 01/2008 – 12/2019

Principal investigators: Elke Scheer, Thomas Huhn, Ulrich Groth†

Scientific staff: Daniel Benner, Johannes Boneberg, Bernd Briechle, Artur Erbe, Thomas Exner, Markus Herz, Mikhail Kabdulov, Mohammad Amin Karimi, Dongku Kim, Youngsang Kim, Bastian Kopp, Katharina Luka-Guth, Gautam Mitra, Thomas Möller, Ayelet Ofarim, Ulrich Steiner (consultant), Dmytro Sysoiev, Zhiwei Yi, David Weber, Jannic Wolf

Schematics of the measurement of force noise with an STM

We study single-molecule contacts the electronic transport properties of which can be tuned by external electrostatic, magnetostatic and electromagnetic fields. We study current-voltage characteristics, inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy, thermopower and also shot-noise. The molecules are contacted individually by mechanically tunable metal and superconductor electrodes. The molecules under study include optically switchable molecules as well as purely organic molecules bearing free radicals whose spins can be aligned in an external magnetic field. Additionally we will develop improved contacting schemes based on covalent carbon-metal bonding as well as by using extended π-system based anchoring groups.

Reversible optical switching of resitivity of self-assembled monolayers on bendable substrates

Highlights

Shot noise measurements represent an important tool to characterize quantum transport through nanoscale junctions. We apply here a much simpler experimental technique developed in the framework of this project (Herz et al, 2013) to single-molecule contacts of benzenedithiol (BDT) between Au electrodes. Au-BDT-Au is the testbed of molecular electronics and has created intensive debates regarding its preferential conductance value.

Shot noise of a Au-BDT-Au contact

In the first funding period of this project we reported a large variation of the conductance spanning almost three orders of magnitude, ranging from 10-2 G0 (where G0  = 2e2/h is the conductance quantum) to more than 0.8 G0 and sugested that this condictance would be accomodated by a single conduction channel (Kim et al, 2011). The measurement of the shot noise is such a remarkable tool because it is sensitive to the number of transmitted electronic modes. By combining shot noise measurements with studies of the elastic and the inelastic electronic transport, we reveal here that this is indeed the case. Atomistic modeling based on density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green’s functions, further supports the experimental conclusions. Our study hence reports a significant finding for the field of molecular electronics, because it shows that Au-BDT-Au is a molecular junction with a widely tunable conductance. It represents the conceptually simplest quantum system, namely a single channel, quantum coherent junction. 

For further information please also refer to the group websites: AG Scheer, AG Huhn.

List of publications

2019

  • J. Koo, Y. Jang, L. Martin, D. Kim, H. Jeong, K. Kang, W. Lee, J. Kim, W.-T. Hwang, D. Xiang, E. Scheer, M. Kabdulov, T. Huhn, F. Pauly, T. Lee
    Unidirectional Real-Time Photoswitching of Diarylethene Molecular Monolayer Junctions with Multilayer Graphene Electrodes
    ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 11, 11645 (2019) - DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b19372

2018

  • T. S. Basu, S. Diesch, E. Scheer
    Study of electronic transport and magnetic field induced bandgap fluctuation of individual silicon nanocrystal at very low temperature
    Nanoscale 10,  13949(2018) - DOI: 10.1039/c8nr01552j
  • V. Schöps, T. Huhn, J. Boneberg, E. Scheer, D. Mayer, A. Offenhäusser
    Facile, non-destructive characterization of 2d photonic crystals using uv-vis-spectroscopy
    Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 20, 4340 (2018)- DOI: 10.1039/c7cp07498k

2017

  • G. Reecht, C. Lotze, D. Sysoiev, T. Huhn, K. J. Franke
    Disentangling electron- and electric-field-induced ring-closing reactions in a diarylethene derivative on Ag(111)
    J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 29, 294001 (2017) - DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa75c1/meta
  •  Y. Kim, S. G. Bahoosh, D. Sysoiev, T. Huhn, F. Pauly, E.Scheer
    Inelastic Electron Tunneling Spectroscopy in Difurylethene-based Photochromic Single-Molecule Junctions
    Beilstein J. Nanotechnology 8, 2606 (2017) - DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.8.261
  • D. L. Weber and Elke Scheer
    Superconducting properties of lithographic lead break junctions
    Nanotechnology 29, 045703 (2017) - DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aa99b8

2016

  • G. Reecht, C. Lotze, D. Sysoiev, T. Huhn, K. J. Franke
    Visualizing the Role of Molecular Orbitals in Charge Transport through Individual Diarylethene Isomers
    ACS Nano 10, 10555–10562 (2016) - DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b06559
  • Markus Herz and Elke Scheer
    Force-noise spectroscopy by tunneling current deflection sensin
    Appl. Phys. Lett. 108, 023103 (2016) - DOI: 10.1063/1.4939721
  • M. A. Karimi, S. G. Bahoosh, M. Herz, R. Hayakawa, F. Pauly, E. Scheer
    Shot noise of 1,4-benzenedithiol single-molecule junctions
    Nanoletters 16 (2016) - DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04848
  • A. Ofarim, B. Kopp, T. Möller, L. Martin, J. Boneberg, P. Leiderer, E Scheer
    Thermo-voltage measurements of atomic contacts at low temperature
    Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 7, 767 (2016) - DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.7.68 
  • K. Luka-Guth, S. Hambsch, A. Bloch, P. Ehrenreich, B. M. Briechle, F. Kilibarda, T. Sendler, D. Sysoiev, T. Huhn, A. Erbe, E. Scheer
    Role of solvents in the electronic transport properties of single-molecule junctions
    Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 7, 1055 (2016) - DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.7.99
  • R. Hayakawa, M. A. Karimi, J. Wolf, T. Huhn, M. S. Zöllner C. Herrmann, E. Scheer
    Large Magnetoresistance in Single-Radical Molecular Junction
    Nano Letters 16, 4960 (2016) - DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b01595

2015

  • D. Kim, H. Jeong, W.-T. Hwang, Y. Jang, D. Sysoiev, E. Scheer, T.s Huhn, M. Min,  H. Lee, and Takhee Lee, Reversible Switching Phenomenon in Diarylethene Molecular Devices with Reduced Graphene Oxide Electrodes on Flexible Substrates, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2015 - DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201502312
  • T. Sendler, K. Luka-Guth, M. Wiese, Lokamani, J. Wolf, M. Helm, S. Gemming, J. Kerbusch, E. Scheer, T. Huhn, and A. Erbe, Light-Induced Switching of Tunable Single-Molecule Junctions, Adv. Sci. 1500017 (2015) - DOI: 10.1002/advs.201500017
  • J. Wolf, T. Huhn, and U. Steiner, Large protonation-gated photochromism of an OPE-embedded difurylper-fluoro-cyclo-pentene, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 17, 6066 (2015) - DOI: 10.1039/C4CP05258G

2014

  • Elke Scheer, Molecular electronics: A DNA that conducts, Nature Nanotechnology 9, 960–961 (2014) - DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2014.293
  • D. Benner, J. Boneberg, P. Nürnberger, R. Waitz, P. Leiderer, and E. Scheer, Lateral and temporal dependence of the transport through an atomic gold contact under light irradiation: signature of propagating surface plasmon polaritons, Nano Lett. 14, 5218 (2014) - DOI: 10.1021/nl502165y

2013

  • D. Benner, J. Boneberg, P. Nürnberger, G. Ghafoori, P. Leiderer, and E. Scheer, Transmission of surface plasmon polaritons through atomic-size constrictions, New J. Phys. 15, 113014 (2013) - DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/15/11/113014
  • M. Herz, S. Bouvron, E. Ćavar, M. Fonin, W. Belzig, and E. Scheer, Fundamental quantum noise mapping with tunneling microscopes, RSC Nanoscale 5, 9978 (2013) - DOI: 10.1039/c3nr02216a
  • J. Wolf, I. Eberspächer, U. Groth, T. Huhn, Synthesis and photoswitching studies of OPE-embedded difurylper-fluoro-cyclo-pentenes, J. Org. Chem. 78, 8366 (2013) - DOI: 10.1021/jo401065b

2012

  • B.M. Briechle, Y. Kim, P. Ehrenreich, A. Erbe, D. Sysoiev, T. Huhn, U. Groth, E. Scheer, Current-voltage characteristics of single-molecule diarylethene junctions measured with adjustable gold electrodes in solution, Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 3, 798 (2012) - DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.3.89
  • B. Kopp, Z. Yi, D. Benner, F.-Q. Xie, Ch. Obermair, Th. Schimmel, J. Boneberg, P. Leiderer, and E. Scheer, Revealing Thermal Effects in the Electronic Transport through Irradiated Atomic Metal Point Contacts, Beilstein J. Nanotech. 3, 703 (2012) - DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.3.80
  • D. Sysoiev, T. Yushchenko, E. Scheer, U. Groth, U.E. Steiner, T.E. Exner, T. Huhn, Pronounced effects on switching efficiency of diarylcycloalkenes upon cycloalkene ring contraction, Chem. Commun. 11355 (2012) - DOI: 10.1039/c2cc35726g
  • Y. Kim, A. Garcia-Lekue, D. Sysoiev, T. Frederiksen, U. Groth, and E. Scheer, Charge Transport in
    Single Azobenzene Molecule Devices, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 226801 (2012) - DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.226801
  • Y. Kim, T. J. Hellmuth, D. Sysoiev, F. Pauly, T. Pietsch, J. Wolf, A. Erbe, T. Huhn, U. Groth, U. E. Steiner, and E. Scheer, Charge Transport Characteristics of Diarylethene Photoswitching Single-Molecule Junctions, Nano Letters 12, 3736 (2012) - DOI: 10.1021/nl3015523

2011

  • Y. Kim, T. Pietsch, A. Erbe, W. Belzig, E. Scheer, Benzenedithiol: A Broad-Range Single-Channel Molecular Conductor, Nano Lett. 11, 3734 (2011) – DOI: 10.1021/nl201777m
  • Y. Kim, T. J. Hellmuth, M. Bürkle, F. Pauly, and E. Scheer, Characteristics of Amine-ended and Thiol-ended Alkane Single-Molecule Junctions revealed, by Inelastic Electron Tunneling Spectroscopy, ACS Nano 5, 4104 (2011) - DOI: 10.1021/nn200759s
  • Y. Kim, T. J. Hellmuth, M. Bürkle, F. Pauly, E. Scheer, Characteristics of amine-ended and thiol-ended alkane single-molecule junctions revealed by inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy, ACS Nano 5, 4104 (2011) – DOI: 10.1021/nn200759s
  • Y. Kim, H. Song, F. Strigl, H.-F. Pernau, T. Lee, E. Scheer, Conductance and vibrational states of single-molecule junctions controlled by mechanical stretching and material variation, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 196804 (2011) – DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.196804
  • D. Sysoiev, A. Fedoseev, Y. Kim, T. Exner J. Boneberg, T. Huhn, P. Leiderer, E. Scheer, U. Groth, and U. E. Steiner, Synthesis and photoswitching studies of difurylperfluorocyclopentenes with extended π-systems, Chem. Eur. J. 17, 6663 (2011) – DOI: 10.1002/chem.201003716

2010

  • L. Zotti, Th. Kirchner, J.-C. Cuevas, F. Pauly, T. Huhn, E. Scheer, A. Erbe, Revealing the role of anchoring groups in the electrical conduction through single-molecule junctions, Small 6, 1529 (2010)
  • S. P. Liu, S. Weisbrod, Z. Tang, A. Marx, E. Scheer, A. Erbe, Direct Measurement of Electrical Transport Through G-Quadruplex DNA with Mechanically Controllable Break Junction Electrodes, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 3313 (2010)
  • N. Kang, E. Scheer, A. Erbe, Observation of negative differential resistance in DNA molecular junctions, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 023701 (2010)

2009

  • K. Drexler, J. Smirnova, M. Galetskaya, S. Voss, M. Fonin, J. Boneberg, U. Rüdiger, P. Leiderer, U. Steiner, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy- and Surface Plasmon Resonance-Detected Photo Release of Photolabile Protecting Groups from Nucleoside Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold Surfaces, Langmuir 25, 10794 (2009)
  • T. Böhler, A. Edtbauer, E. Scheer, Point-contact spectroscopy on aluminium atomic-size contacts: longitudinal and transverse vibronic excitations, New J. Phys. 11, 013036 (2009)

2008

  • C. Kreuter, S. Bächle, E. Scheer, A. Erbe, Electrical characterization of alkane monolayers using micro transfer printing: tunneling and molecular transport, New J. Phys. 10, 075001 (2008)
  • N. Kang, A. Erbe, E. Scheer, Electrical characterization of DNA in mechanically controlled breakjunctions, New J. Phys. 10, 023030 (2008)