Electrostatic Control Over Temperature-Dependent Tunnelling Across A Single-Molecule Junction

Abstract

Understanding how the mechanism of charge transport through molecular tunnel junctions depends on temperature is crucial to control electronic function in molecular electronic devices. With just a few systems investigated as a function of bias and temperature so far, thermal effects in molecular tunnel junctions remain poorly understood. Here we report a detailed charge transport study of an individual redox-active ferrocene-based molecule over a wide range of temperatures and applied potentials. The results show the temperature dependence of the current to vary strongly as a function of the gate voltage. Specifically, the current across the molecule exponentially increases in the Coulomb blockade regime and decreases at the charge degeneracy points, while remaining temperature-independent at resonance. Our observations can be well accounted for by a formal single-level tunnelling model where the temperature dependence relies on the thermal broadening of the Fermi distributions of the electrons in the leads.

Publication Date

5-23-2016

Publication Title

Nature Communications

Volume

7

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11595

Socpus ID

84971333689 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84971333689

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