Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics
The electronic and magnetic properties of single-molecule transistors depend critically on the molecular charge state. Charge transport in single-molecule transistors is characterized by Coulomb-blocked regions in which the charge state of the molecule is fixed and current is suppressed, separated b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Royal Society of Chemistry
2019
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| _version_ | 1826258512704962560 |
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| author | Limburg, B Thomas, JO Sowa, JK Willick, K Baugh, J Gauger, EM Briggs, GAD Mol, JA Anderson, HL |
| author_facet | Limburg, B Thomas, JO Sowa, JK Willick, K Baugh, J Gauger, EM Briggs, GAD Mol, JA Anderson, HL |
| author_sort | Limburg, B |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The electronic and magnetic properties of single-molecule transistors depend critically on the molecular charge state. Charge transport in single-molecule transistors is characterized by Coulomb-blocked regions in which the charge state of the molecule is fixed and current is suppressed, separated by highconductance, sequential-tunneling regions. It is often difficult to assign the charge state of the molecular species in each Coulomb-blocked region due to variability in the work-function of the electrodes. In this work, we provide a simple and fast method to assign the charge state of the molecular species in the Coulomb-blocked regions based on signatures of electron–phonon coupling together with the Pauliexclusion principle, simply by observing the asymmetry in the current in high-conductance regions of the stability diagram. We demonstrate that charge-state assignments determined in this way are consistent with those obtained from measurements of Zeeman splittings. Our method is applicable at 77 K, in contrast to magnetic-field-dependent measurements, which generally require low temperatures (below 4 K). Due to the ubiquity of electron–phonon coupling in molecular junctions, we expect this method to be widely applicable to single-electron transistors based on single molecules and graphene quantum dots. The correct assignment of charge states allows researchers to better understand the fundamental charge-transport properties of single-molecule transistors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:35:07Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:0af54040-7030-4e22-9370-81543f88eea7 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:35:07Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:0af54040-7030-4e22-9370-81543f88eea72022-03-26T09:26:53ZCharge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristicsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:0af54040-7030-4e22-9370-81543f88eea7EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordRoyal Society of Chemistry2019Limburg, BThomas, JOSowa, JKWillick, KBaugh, JGauger, EMBriggs, GADMol, JAAnderson, HLThe electronic and magnetic properties of single-molecule transistors depend critically on the molecular charge state. Charge transport in single-molecule transistors is characterized by Coulomb-blocked regions in which the charge state of the molecule is fixed and current is suppressed, separated by highconductance, sequential-tunneling regions. It is often difficult to assign the charge state of the molecular species in each Coulomb-blocked region due to variability in the work-function of the electrodes. In this work, we provide a simple and fast method to assign the charge state of the molecular species in the Coulomb-blocked regions based on signatures of electron–phonon coupling together with the Pauliexclusion principle, simply by observing the asymmetry in the current in high-conductance regions of the stability diagram. We demonstrate that charge-state assignments determined in this way are consistent with those obtained from measurements of Zeeman splittings. Our method is applicable at 77 K, in contrast to magnetic-field-dependent measurements, which generally require low temperatures (below 4 K). Due to the ubiquity of electron–phonon coupling in molecular junctions, we expect this method to be widely applicable to single-electron transistors based on single molecules and graphene quantum dots. The correct assignment of charge states allows researchers to better understand the fundamental charge-transport properties of single-molecule transistors. |
| spellingShingle | Limburg, B Thomas, JO Sowa, JK Willick, K Baugh, J Gauger, EM Briggs, GAD Mol, JA Anderson, HL Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics |
| title | Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics |
| title_full | Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics |
| title_fullStr | Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics |
| title_short | Charge-state assignment of nanoscale single-electron transistors from their current–voltage characteristics |
| title_sort | charge state assignment of nanoscale single electron transistors from their current voltage characteristics |
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