Incoherent dynamics of vibrating single-molecule transistors

McCarthy, Kevin; Prokof’ev, Nikolay; Tuominen, Mark

doi:10.1103/physrevb.67.245415

Cited by 127 publications

(167 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…5 Theoretical considerations suggest that different regimes may exist depending on whether tunneling electrons occupy resonant energy levels on the molecule, and also on the relative magnitudes of the rate of electron flow, the vibrational frequency, and the damping rate of vibrational energy. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] A quantitative analysis of electron-vibration interactions has been difficult to achieve in previous molecular-transistor experiments. In transistors made from cobalt coordination complexes, 4 neither the precise nature of the vibrational modes nor their energies was determined independently of transport measurements.…”

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confidence: 99%

Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C₁₄₀ Transistors

et al. 2005

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We measure electron tunneling in transistors made from C 140 , a molecule with a mass−spring−mass geometry chosen as a model system to study electron-vibration coupling. We observe vibration-assisted tunneling at an energy corresponding to the stretching mode of C 140 . Molecular modeling provides explanations for why this mode couples more strongly to electron tunneling than to the other internal modes of the molecule. We make comparisons between the observed tunneling rates and those expected from the Franck−Condon model. When electrons travel through molecules, vibrational modes of the molecules can affect current flow. Molecular-vibrationassisted tunneling was first measured in the 1960s using devices whose tunnel barriers contained many molecules. 1 Recently, effects of vibrations in single molecules have been measured using scanning tunneling microscopes, 2 singlemolecule transistors, 3,4 and mechanical break junctions. 5 Theoretical considerations suggest that different regimes may exist depending on whether tunneling electrons occupy resonant energy levels on the molecule, and also on the relative magnitudes of the rate of electron flow, the vibrational frequency, and the damping rate of vibrational energy. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] A quantitative analysis of electron-vibration interactions has been difficult to achieve in previous molecular-transistor experiments. In transistors made from cobalt coordination complexes, 4 neither the precise nature of the vibrational modes nor their energies was determined independently of transport measurements. In transistors made from C 60 , 3 the "bouncing-ball" mode of a single C 60 molecule against a gold surface was observed, a mode not intrinsic to the molecule itself. In this letter we study single-molecule transistors made using a molecule, C 140 , with low-energy internal vibrational modes that are well understood. We observe clear signatures

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Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C₁₄₀ Transistors

et al. 2005

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“…This scenario has been investigated both in the incoherent 1,2,3 and in the quantum case. 4,5,6,7,8,9 . There are strong indications that Parks et al have observed this phenomenon in C 60 molecules oscillating between two leads.…”

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Full counting statistics of a charge shuttle

Pistolesi

2004

Phys. Rev. B

103

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We study the charge transfer in a small grain oscillating between two leads. Coulomb blockade restricts the charge fluctuations in such a way that only zero or one additional electrons can sit on the grain. The system thus acts as a charge shuttle. We obtain the full counting statistics of charge transfer and discuss its behavior. For large oscillation amplitude the probability of transferringñ electrons per cycle is strongly peaked around one. The peak is asymmetric since its form is controlled by different parameters forñ > 1 andñ < 1. Under certain conditions the systems behaves as if the effective charge is 1/2 of the elementary one. Knowledge of the counting statistics gives a new insight on the mechanism of charge transfer.

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“…Charge transfer in this regime was studied theoretically in Ref. 10. However, the strong additional dissipation in the mechanical subsystem suggested in this paper keeps the mechanical subsystem in the vicinity of its ground state and prevents the developing of the mechanical instability.…”

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Energy pumping in a quantum nanoelectromechanical system

Nord

Gorelik

2005

Low Temperature Physics

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Fully quantized mechanical motion of a single-level quantum coupled to two voltage biased electronic leads is studied. It is found that there are two different regimes depending on the applied voltage. If the bias voltage is below a certain threshold (which depends on the energy of the vibrational quanta) the mechanical subsystem is characterized by a low level of excitation. Above a threshold the energy accumulated in the mechanical degree of freedom dramatically increases. The distribution function for the energy level population and the current through the system in this regime is calculated. During the past few years experimental methods of physics has seen an advancing capability to manufacture smaller and smaller structures and devices. This has lead to many new interesting investigations of nanoscale physics. Examples include, for instance, observation of the Kondo effect in single-atom junctions [1], manufacturing of single-molecular transistors [2], and so on. There has also been a great interest in the promising field of molecular electronics [3]. One of the main features of the conducting nanoscale composite systems is its susceptibility to significant mechanical deformations. This results from the fact that on the nanoscale level the mechanical forces controlling the structure of the system are of the same order of magnitude as the capacitive electrostatic forces governed by charge distributions. This circumstance is of the utmost importance in the so called electromechanical single-electron transistor (EM-SET), which has been in focus of recent research. The EM-SET is basically a double junction system where the additional (mechanical) degree of freedom, describing the relative position of the central island, significantly influences the electronic transport. Experimental work in relation to EM-SET structures range from the macroscopic [5] to the micrometer scale [6][7][8] and down to the nanometer scale [9]. Various aspects of electronic transport in such systems have been theoretically investigated in a series of articles [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].In Ref. 4 and Ref. 15 it was, among other things, shown that coupling the mechanical degree of freedom of an EM-SET to the nonequilibrium bath of electrons constituted by the biased leads, can lead to dynamical self excitations of the mechanical subsystem and as a result bring the EM-SET to the shuttle regime of charge transfer. This phenomena is usually referred to as a shuttle instability. In these papers the grain dynamics are treated classically and the key issue is that the charge of the grain, q t ( ), is correlated with its velocity, &( ) x t , in a way so that the time average, q t x ( ) & ¹ 0. Decreasing the size of the central island in the EM-SET structure to the nanoscale level results in the quantization of its mechanical motion. Charge transfer in this regime was studied theoretically in Ref. 10. However, the strong additional dissipation in the mechanical subsystem suggested in this paper keeps the mechanical subsystem in t...

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Incoherent dynamics of vibrating single-molecule transistors

Cited by 127 publications

References 15 publications

Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C₁₄₀ Transistors

Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C₁₄₀ Transistors

Full counting statistics of a charge shuttle

Energy pumping in a quantum nanoelectromechanical system

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Incoherent dynamics of vibrating single-molecule transistors

Cited by 127 publications

References 15 publications

Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C140 Transistors

Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C140 Transistors

Full counting statistics of a charge shuttle

Energy pumping in a quantum nanoelectromechanical system

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C₁₄₀ Transistors

Vibration-Assisted Electron Tunneling in C₁₄₀ Transistors