Tunable graphene single electron transistor

We report electronic transport experiments on a graphene single electron transistor. The device consists of a graphene island connected to source and drain electrodes via two narrow graphene constrictions. It is electrostatically tunable by three lateral graphene gates and an additional back gate. The tunneling coupling is a strongly nonmonotonic function of gate voltage indicating the presence of localized states in the barriers. We investigate energy scales for the tunneling gap, the resonances in the constrictions, and for the Coulomb blockade resonances. From Coulomb diamond measurements in different device configurations (i.e., barrier configurations) we extract a charging energy of approximately 3.4 meV and estimate a characteristic energy scale for the constriction resonances of approximately 10 meV.     

Electron transfer dynamics of bistable single-molecule junctions

We present transport measurements of single-molecule junctions bridged by a molecule with three benzene rings connected by two double bonds and with thiol end-groups that allow chemical binding to gold electrodes. The I-V curves show switching behavior between two distinct states. By statistical analysis of the switching events, we show that a 300 meV mode mediates the transition between the two states. We propose that breaking and reformation of a S-H bond in the contact zone between molecule and electrode explains the observed bistability.     

Tip-Induced Inversion of the Chirality of a Molecule's Adsorption Potential Probed by the Switching Directionality

The switching behavior of surface-supported molecular units excited by current, light, or mechanical forces is determined by the shape of the adsorption potential. The ability to tailor the energy landscape in which a molecule resides at a surface gives the possibility of imposing a desired response, which is of paramount importance for the realization of molecular electronic units. Here, by means of scanning tunneling microscopy, a triazatruxene (TAT) molecule on Ag(111) is studied, which shows a switching behavior characterized by transitions of the molecule between three states, and which is attributed to three energetically degenerate bonding configurations. Upon tunneling current injection, the system can be excited and continuously driven, showing a switching directionality close to 100%. Two surface enantiomers of TAT show opposite switching directions pointing at the chirality of the energy landscape of the adsorption potential as a key ingredient for directional switching. Further, it is shown that by tuning the tunneling parameters, the symmetry of the adsorption potential can be controllably adjusted, leading to a suppression of the directionality or an inversion of the switching direction. The findings represent a molecule-surface model system exhibiting unprecedented control of the shape of its adsorption potential.     

Reversible Chiral Switching of Bis(phthalocyaninato) Terbium(III) on a Metal Surface

We demonstrate a reversible chiral switching of bis(phthalocyaninato) terbium(III) molecules on an Ir(111) surface by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. With an azimuthal rotation of its upper phthalocyanine ligand, the molecule can be switched between a chiral and an achiral configuration actuated by respective inelastic electron tunneling and local current heating. Moreover, the molecular chiral configuration can be interchanged between left and right handedness during the switching manipulations, thereby opening up potential nanotechnological applications.     

UV induced zener diode characteristic in a single n-ZnO/p++-Si nanoheterojunction

Rectification is observed in a single n-ZnO/p++-Si nanoheterojunction using ultra high vacuum compatible scanning tunneling microscope. The nanohetrojunctions have been grown using catalyst free vapor-solid growth of ZnO nanorods on p++-Si substarte. A high rectification ratio approximately 100 at 2 V is observed in the current voltage measurements. Temperature dependent study in these nanohetero-junctions showed activation energy for carrier conduction approximately 66 meV, which is primarily associated to the presence of heterojunction induced interface states. Role of ultra violet excitation on these finite sized (approximately 500 nm) nanoheterojunction is also studied with photo-generated electron-hole pairs. A Zener breakdown is observed in this photo-excitation process. Increase in the concentration of minority carriers and corresponding decrease in barrier width and height at the junction have been identified for the observed tunneling behavior under UV illumination. The large carrier concentration in the finite sized device with large diffusion length of electron (approximately 2 microm) is made responsible for the observed voltage regulation.     

Reversible bistable switching in nanoscale thiol-substituted oligoaniline molecular junctions

Single molecular monolayers of oligoaniline dimers were integrated into sub-40-nm-diameter metal nanowires to form in-wire molecular junctions. These junctions exhibited reproducible room temperature bistable switching with zero-bias high- to low-current state conductance ratios of up to 50, switching threshold voltages of approximately +/-1.5 V, and no measurable decay in the high-state current over 22 h. Such switching was not observed in similarly fabricated saturated dodecane (C12) or conjugated oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) molecular junctions. The low- and high-state current versus voltage was independent of temperature (10-300 K), suggesting that the dominant transport mechanism in these junctions is coherent tunneling. Inelastic electron tunneling spectra collected at 10 K show a change in the vibrational modes of the oligoaniline dimers when the junctions are switched from the low- to the high-current state. The results of these measurements suggest that the switching behavior is an inherent molecular feature that can be attributed to the oligoaniline dimer molecules that form the junction.     

Reversible single-molecule switching in an ordered monolayer molecular dipole array

Making electronic devices using a single molecule has been the ultimate goal of molecular electronics. For binary data storage in particular, the challenge has been the ability to switch a single molecule in between bistable states in a simple and repeatable manner. The reversible switching of single molecules of chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (ClAlPc) dipolar molecules within a close-packed monolayer is demonstrated. By pulsing an scanning tunneling microscopy tip, read-write operations of single-molecular binary bits at ~40 Tb/cm(2) (~250 Tb/in(2)) are demonstrated.     

Molecular Signatures in the Transport Properties of Molecular Wire Junctions: What Makes a Junction “Molecular”?

The simplest component of molecular electronics consists of a single-molecule transport junction: a molecule sandwiched between source and drain electrodes, with or without a third gate electrode. In this Concept article, we focus on how molecules control transport in metal-electrode molecular junctions, and where the molecular signatures are to be found. In the situation where the molecule is relatively short and the gap between injection energy and molecular eigenstates is large, transport occurs largely by elastic tunneling, stochastic switching is common, and the vibronic signature can be found using inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS). As the energy gaps for injection become smaller, one begins to see stronger molecular signatures - these include Franck-Condon-like structures in the current/voltage characteristic and strong vibronic interactions, which can lead to hopping behavior at the polaron limit. Conformational changes induced by the strong electric field lead to another strong manifestation of the molecular nature of the junction. We overview some of this mechanistic landscape, focusing on significant effects of switching (both stochastic and controlled by the electric field) and of molecular vibronic coupling.     

Ni-NiO-Ni tunnel junctions for terahertz and infrared detection

We present complete experimental determinations of the tunnel barrier parameters (two barrier heights, junction area, dielectric constant, and extrinsic series resistance) as a function of temperature for submicrometer Ni-NiO-Ni thin-film tunnel junctions, showing that when the temperature-invariant parameters are forced to be consistent, good-quality fits are obtained between I-V curves and the Simmons equation for this very-low-barrier system (measured phi approximately 0.20 eV). A splitting of approximately 10 meV in the barrier heights due to the different processing histories of the upper and lower electrodes is clearly shown, with the upper interface having a lower barrier, consistent with the increased effect of the image potential at a sharper material interface. It is believed that this is the first barrier height measurement with sufficient resolution for this effect to be seen. A fabrication technique that produces high yields and consistent junction behavior is presented as well as the preliminary results of inelastic tunneling spectroscopy at 4 K that show a prominent peak at -59 meV, shifted slightly with respect to the expected transverse optic phonon excitation in bulk NiO but consistent with other surface-sensitive experiments. We discuss the implications of these results for the design of efficient detectors for terahertz and IR radiation.     

Electronic excited states in bilayer graphene double quantum dots

We report tunneling spectroscopy experiments on a bilayer graphene double quantum dot device that can be tuned by all-graphene lateral gates. The diameter of the two quantum dots are around 50 nm and the constrictions acting as tunneling barriers are 30 nm in width. The double quantum dot features additional energies on the order of 20 meV. Charge stability diagrams allow us to study the tunable interdot coupling energy as well as the spectrum of the electronic excited states on a number of individual triple points over a large energy range. The obtained constant level spacing of 1.75 meV over a wide energy range is in good agreement with the expected single-particle energy spacing in bilayer graphene quantum dots. Finally, we investigate the evolution of the electronic excited states in a parallel magnetic field.     

Electron tunneling measurement of the energy gap in a LaSrCuO superconductor

We have used the break junction technique to determine the energy gap of lanthanum—strontium—copper—oxide, one of the new high critical temperature superconductors. The current—voltage characteristics demonstrated a variety of tunneling behaviours. The best characteristic indicating quasiparticle tunneling between superconducting electrodes implied an energy gap of 7.0 ± 0.1 meV. Derivatives of other characteristics showed weak structure indicating possible energy gaps up to 9 meV.     

Probing the Superconducting Gap from Tunneling Conductance on NdFeAsO<Subscript>0.7</Subscript> with <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript>C</Subscript>=51 K

We report the tunneling spectroscopy of an iron-based oxypnictide NdFeAsO_0.7 with T _C=51 K, measured by a mechanical point contact technique. Mainly two kinds of tunneling spectra have been observed reproducibly. One is tunneling conductance displaying sharp superconducting gap peaks at 6.0±1.0 mV, in which hump (or kink) structures are also observed at 20–30 mV. Another is that showing dominantly the larger superconducting gap Δ _L with sharp conductance peaks at 14±1.0 meV, in which the trace of a smaller gap (Δ _S=5–7 meV) is simultaneously observed. Our results give direct evidence for the existence of multiple gaps in the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of this multiband system, although the origin of the hump at 20–30 mV is still unclear.     

Observation of two resistance switching modes in TiO2 memristive devices electroformed at low current

We report the observation of two resistance switching modes in certain 50 nm × 50 nm crossbar TiO(2) memristive devices that have been electroformed with a low-current process. The two switching modes showed opposite switching polarities. The intermediate state was shared by both modes (the ON state of the high-resistance mode or the OFF state of the low-resistance mode) and exhibited a relaxation to a more resistive state, including an initial transient decay. The activation energies of such a decay and ON-switching to the intermediate state were determined to be 50-210 meV and 1.1 eV, respectively. Although they are attributed to the coexistence of charge trapping and ionic motion, the ionic motion dominates in both switching modes. Our results indicate that the two switching modes in our system correspond to different switching layers adjacent to the interfaces at the top and bottom electrodes.     

Surface-dominated conduction in a 6 nm thick Bi2Se3 thin film

We report a direct observation of surface dominated conduction in an intrinsic Bi(2)Se(3) thin film with a thickness of six quintuple layers grown on lattice-matched CdS (0001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations from the topological surface states suggest that the Fermi level falls inside the bulk band gap and is 53 ± 5 meV above the Dirac point, which is in agreement with 70 ± 20 meV obtained from scanning tunneling spectroscopies. Our results demonstrate a great potential of producing genuine topological insulator devices using Dirac Fermions of the surface states, when the film thickness is pushed to nanometer range.     

Energy gap distribution of HgBa2CuO4+δ investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy

The superconducting energy gap distribution of poly crystalline HgBa₂CuO₄₊ samples of differing oxygen doping levels (T_c = 94 K and T_c = 96 K) is determined by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) using a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM). From histograms of energy gap values the presence of two distinct energy gaps is inferred (₁=8.5±1.6meV and ₂=15.1±1.4meV). We attribute the different gaps to different crystallographic faces, implying a non-BCS electron-electron pairing mechanism.     

Modified carbon surfaces as "organic electrodes" that exhibit conductance switching

Glassy carbon (GC) surfaces modified with monolayers of biphenyl and nitrobiphenyl molecules were examined as voltammetric electrodes for ferrocene, benzoquinone, and tetracyanoquinodimethane electrochemistry in acetonitrile. The modified electrodes exhibited slower electron transfer than unmodified GC, by factors that varied with the monolayer and redox system. However, after a negative potential excursion to approximately -2.0 V versus Ag+/Ag, the modified electrodes exhibited much faster electron-transfer kinetics, approaching those observed on unmodified GC. The effect is attributed to an apparently irreversible structural change in the biphenyl or nitrobiphenyl monolayer, which increases the rate of electron tunneling. The transition to the "ON" state is associated with electron injection into the monolayer similar to that observed in previous spectroscopic investigations and causes a significant decrease in the calculated HOMO-LUMO gap for the monolayer molecule. Once the monolayer is switched ON, it supports rapid electron exchange with outer-sphere redox systems, but not with dopamine, which requires adsorption to the GC surface. The increase in electron-transfer rate with electron injection is consistent with an increase in electron tunneling rate through the monolayer, caused by a significant decrease in tunneling barrier height. The ON electrode can reduce biphenyl- or nitrobiphenyldiazonium reagent in solution to permit formation of a second modification layer of biphenyl or nitrobiphenyl molecules. This "double derivatization" procedure was used to prepare tetraphenyl- and nitrotetraphenyl-modified electrodes, which exhibit significantly slower electron transfer than their biphenyl and nitrobiphenyl counterparts. A "switching" electrode may have useful properties for electroanalytical applications and possibly in electrocatalysis. In addition, the ON state represents an "organic electrode" in which electron transfer occurs at an interface between an organic conductor and a solution rather than an interface between a solution and a metal or carbon electrode.     

Creating pseudo-Kondo resonances by field-induced diffusion of atomic hydrogen

In low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments a cerium adatom on Ag(100) possesses two discrete states with significantly different apparent heights. These atomic switches also exhibit a Kondo-like feature in spectroscopy experiments. By extensive theoretical simulations we find that this behavior is due to diffusion of hydrogen from the surface onto the Ce adatom in the presence of the STM tip field. The cerium adatom possesses vibrational modes of very low energy (3-4?meV) and very high efficiency (≥20%), which are due to the large changes of Ce states in the presence of hydrogen. The atomic vibrations lead to a Kondo-like feature at very low bias voltages.     

Spin doping of individual molecules by using single-atom manipulation

Being able to control the spin of magnetic molecules at the single-molecule level will make it possible to develop new spin-based nanotechnologies. Gate-field effects and electron and photon excitations have been used to achieve spin switching in molecules. Here, we show that atomic doping of molecules can be used to change the molecular spin. Furthermore, a scanning tunneling microscope was used to place or remove the atomic dopant on the molecule, allowing us to change the molecular spin in a controlled way. Bis(phthalocyaninato)yttrium (YPc(2)) molecules deposited on an Au (111) surface keep their spin-1/2 magnetic moment due to the small molecule-substrate interaction. However, when Cs atoms were carefully placed onto YPc(2) molecules, the spin of the molecule vanished as shown by our conductance measurements and corroborated by the results of density functional theory calculations.     

Confirmation of K-momentum dark exciton vibronic sidebands using 13C-labeled, highly enriched (6,5) single-walled carbon nanotubes

A detailed knowledge of the manifold of both bright and dark excitons in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is critical to understanding radiative and nonradiative recombination processes. Exciton-phonon coupling opens up additional absorption and emission channels, some of which may "brighten" the sidebands of optically forbidden (dark) excitonic transitions in optical spectra. In this report, we compare (12)C and (13)C-labeled SWCNTs that are highly enriched in the (6,5) species to identify both absorptive and emissive vibronic transitions. We find two vibronic sidebands near the bright (1)E(11) singlet exciton, one absorptive sideband ~200 meV above, and one emissive sideband ~140 meV below, the bright singlet exciton. Both sidebands demonstrate a ~50 cm(-1) isotope-induced shift, which is commensurate with exciton-phonon coupling involving phonons of A[Formula: see text] symmetry (D band, ω ~ 1330 cm(-1)). Independent analysis of each sideband indicates that both sidebands arise from the same dark exciton level, which lies at an energy approximately 25 meV above the bright singlet exciton. Our observations support the recent prediction of, and mounting experimental evidence for, the dark K-momentum singlet exciton lying ~25 meV (for the (6,5) SWCNT) above the bright Γ-momentum singlet. This study represents the first use of (13)C-labeled SWCNTs highly enriched in a single nanotube species to unequivocally confirm these sidebands as vibronic sidebands of the dark K-momentum singlet exciton.     

Enhancement of the Kapitza conductance at 0.32 meV phonon energy

Using quasimonochromatic relaxation phonons emitted by superconducting tunneling junctions, the phonon transfer through real solid-liquid helium interfaces was tested. We found an enhancement of the energy transmission if the incident phonons exceed the threshold energyE ₀=0.32 meV. This sharp threshold energy shifts to 0.42 meV if the lighter isotope³He is used.