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Atomic-scale engineering of electrodes for single-molecule contacts

Nature Nanotechnology volume 6, pages 23–27 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The transport of charge through a conducting material depends on the intrinsic ability of the material to conduct current and on the charge injection efficiency at the contacts between the conductor and the electrodes carrying current to and from the material1,2,3. According to theoretical considerations4, this concept remains valid down to the limit of single-molecule junctions5. Exploring this limit in experiments requires atomic-scale control of the junction geometry. Here we present a method for probing the current through a single C60 molecule while changing, one by one, the number of atoms in the electrode that are in contact with the molecule. We show quantitatively that the contact geometry has a strong influence on the conductance. We also find a crossover from a regime in which the conductance is limited by charge injection at the contact to a regime in which the conductance is limited by scattering at the molecule. Thus, the concepts of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ contacts, commonly used in macro- and mesoscopic physics, can also be applied at the molecular scale.

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Figure 1: STM images of atomically engineered electrodes on Cu(111).
Figure 2: Transport measurements of a single C60 molecule in contact with an increasing number of atoms.
Figure 3: Conductances at contact between a single C60 molecule and clusters of copper atoms.
Figure 4: Scattering at the contact between a single C60 molecule and clusters of copper atoms.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 677), the Schleswig–Holstein Fonds, the Ministerio de Cienciae Innovacion (FIS2007-6671) and the Basque Department of Education (IT-366-07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504 (CNRS – Université de Strasbourg), Strasbourg, 67034, France

    Guillaume Schull

  2. Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

    Thomas Frederiksen, Andrés Arnau & Daniel Sánchez-Portal

  3. Centro de Fisica de Materiales CSIC-UPV/EHU, Materials Physics Center MPC, San Sebastián, 20080, Spain

    Andrés Arnau & Daniel Sánchez-Portal

  4. Depto. Fisica de Materiales UPV/EHU, Facultad de Quimica, San Sebastián, 20080, Spain

    Andrés Arnau

  5. Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, 24098, Germany

    Richard Berndt

Authors
  1. Guillaume Schull
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  2. Thomas Frederiksen
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  3. Andrés Arnau
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  4. Daniel Sánchez-Portal
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  5. Richard Berndt
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Contributions

G.S. and R.B. provided the experimental concept. G.S. performed the STM and contact experiments. T.F. performed the first-principles calculations, and analysis was carried out with A.A. and D.S.P. All authors contibuted to the discussion of the results and preparation of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guillaume Schull or Thomas Frederiksen.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Schull, G., Frederiksen, T., Arnau, A. et al. Atomic-scale engineering of electrodes for single-molecule contacts. Nature Nanotech 6, 23–27 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2010.215

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