Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Single-atom switches

Toggled with electrical current

Nature Nanotechnology volume 8, pages 622–623 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

The conductance of an electronic nanodevice can be switched by an applied current between two well-defined values, which correspond to atomic configurations that differ as a result of the rearrangement of a single atom.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A controllable atomic switch.

References

  1. Aradhya, S. V. & Venkataraman, L. Nature Nanotech. 8, 399–410 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Van der Molen, S. J. & Liljeroth, P. J. Phys. Condens. Matter 22, 133001 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Schirm, C. et al. Nature Nanotech. 8, 645–648 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Smith, D. P. E. Science 269, 371–373 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Xie, F-Q. et al. Nano Lett. 8, 4493–4497 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Martin, C. A., Smit, R. H. M., van der Zant, H. S. J. & van Ruitenbeek, J. M. Nano Lett. 9, 2940–2945 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Agraït, N., Yeyati, A. L. & van Ruitenbeek, J. M. Phys. Rep. 377, 81–279 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Scheer, E. et al. Nature 394, 154–157 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Sorbello, R. S. Solid State Phys. 51, 159–231 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Brandbyge, M., Stokbro, K., Taylor, J., Mozos, J-L. & Ordejón, P. Phys. Rev. B 67, 193104 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Dundas, D., McEniry, E. J. & Todorov, T. N. Nature Nanotech. 4, 99–102 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sense Jan van der Molen is at the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory at Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands,

    Sense Jan van der Molen

Authors
  1. Sense Jan van der Molen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sense Jan van der Molen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

van der Molen, S. Toggled with electrical current. Nature Nanotech 8, 622–623 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.172

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.172

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing