接触构型及电极距离对4,4’-二巯基二苯醚分子电输运性质的影响

利用从头计算方法和弹性散射格林函数的方法,对4,4'-二巯基二苯醚分子电输运特性的研究结果显示,分子与电极之间接触点的构型以及两电极之间的距离对4,4'-二巯基二苯醚分子的电输运性质都有很大影响.电流随电极距离的变化与耦合系数的变化存在着密切关系.分子末端硫原子处于金原子的顶位上时电流的开启电压很小,而处在金(111)面的空位上时约有1.0V左右电流禁区.与实验结果相比,硫原子更可能处在金(111)面的空位上方.     

Correlation of interfacial bonding mechanism and equilibrium conductance of molecular junctions

We report theoretical investigations on the role of interfacial bonding mechanism and its resulting structures to quantum transport in molecular wires. Two bonding mechanisms for the Au-S bond in an Au(111)/1,4-benzenedithiol(BDT)/Au(111) junction were identified by ab initio calculation, confirmed by a recent experiment, which, we showed, critically control charge conduction. It was found, for Au/BDT/Aujunctions, the hydrogen atom, bound by a dative bond to the Sulfur, is energetically non-dissociativeafter the interface formation. The calculated conductance and junction breakdown forces of H-non-dissociative Au/BDT/Au devices are consistent with the experimental values, while the H-dissociated devices, with the interface governed by typical covalent bonding, give conductance more than an order of magnitude larger. By examining the scattering states that traverse the junctions, we have revealed that mechanical and electric properties of a junction have strong correlation with the bonding configuration. This work clearly demonstrates that the interfacial details, rather than previously believed many-body effects, is of vital importance for correctly predicting equilibrium conductance of molecular junctions; and manifests that the interfacial contact must be carefully understood for investigating quantum transport properties of molecular nanoelectronics.     

1,4-丁二硫醇分子器件电输运性质的力敏特性研究

基于杂化密度泛函理论,研究了1,4-丁二硫醇分子体系的结构随电极作用力的变化及拉断过程;并利用弹性散射格林函数方法进一步计算了不同电极作用力下分子体系的电输运特性.结果显示,界面结构不同,拉断分子体系所用的拉力也不同:分子末端硫原子处于Au(111)面的空位上方时,拉断分子体系需约1.75 nN的拉力;若金电极表面存在孤立金原子与1,4-丁二硫醇分子末端的硫原子相连,拉断分子体系只需约1.0 nN的力,且伴有孤立金原子被拉出.两种情况分别与不同实验测量相符合.分子在压缩过程中发生扭曲并引起表面金原子滑移,然而压缩扭曲过程与拉伸回复过程不可逆.电极拉力约为0.7—0.8 nN时,分子体系在不同界面构型下以及在不同扭转状态下,电导都出现极小值,这与实验结论一致.分子的末端原子与电极间耦合强度随电极作用力的变化是引起分子体系电导变化的主要因素.实验在0.8 nN附近同时测得较小概率的高电导值与双分子导电有关.     

Effect of gold electrode crystallographic orientations on charge transport through aromatic molecular junctions

ABSTRACT

We examined the electrical conduction through single-molecular junctions comprising of anthracenedithiol molecule coupled to two gold electrodes having ?1,0,1?, ?1,1,0? and ?1,1,1? crystallographic orientations. Owing to this jellium model, we evaluated the values of current and conductance using non-equilibrium Green's functions combined with extended Huckel theory. This data was further interpreted in terms of transmission spectra, density of states and their molecular orbital analysis for zero bias. We evinced the oscillating conductance in all three cases, due to the oscillation of orbital energy relative to Fermi level. Our detailed analysis suggested that electrode orientation can tune the molecule–electrode coupling and hence conduction. Anthracene molecular junction with ?1,1,0? orientation displayed favourable conduction, when compared to the other two orientations, thus can provide us an insight while designing futuristic molecular electronic devices.     

Theoretical investigations on the orientational dependence of electron transport through porphyrin molecular wire

The effect of molecular orientation on the electron transport behavior of single porphyrin sandwiched between two gold (111) electrodes is investigated by density functional theory calculations combined with non-equilibrium Green’s function method. The results show that the porphyrin with parallel connection to gold (111) electrodes is more conductive than the porphyrin with diagonal connection to gold (111) electrodes. The mechanism of the difference of electron transport for these two molecular junctions is analyzed from the transmission spectra and the molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian states. It is found that the intrinsic nature of the molecule, such as the π-conjugated framework and the strength of molecule–electrode coupling, are the essential reason for generating this difference of electron transport for the two molecular systems.     

Effective interactions in molecular dynamics simulations of lysozyme solutions

On the basis of ab-initio calculations, we predict the effect of conformation and molecule-electrode distance on transport properties of asymmetric molecular junctions for different electrode materials M (M = Au, Ag, Cu, and Pt). The asymmetry in these junctions is created by connecting one end of the biphenyl molecule to conjugated double thiol (model A) and single thiol (model B) groups, while the other end to Cu atom. A variety of phenomena viz. rectification, negative differential resistance (NDR), switching has been observed that can be controlled by tailoring the interface state properties through molecular conformation and molecule-electrode distance for various M. These properties are further analyzed by calculating transmission spectra, molecular orbitals, and orbital energy. It is found that Cu electrode shows significantly enhanced rectifying performance with change in torsion angles, as well as with increase in molecule-electrode distances than Au and Ag electrodes. Moreover, Pt electrode manifests distinctive multifunctional behavior combining switch, diode, and NDR. Thus, the Pt electrode is suggested to be a good potential candidate for a novel multifunctional electronic device. Our findings are compared with available experimental and theoretical results.     

High probability of single molecule junction formation with Ag electrodes

We use a scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique to compare the probability of the formation of a single-molecule junction for a series of amine-terminated oligophenyl and alkane species using either Ag or Au as electrodes. For all molecules, we find that there is a significantly higher probability of junction formation when using Ag electrodes than with Au electrodes. We also find that longer molecules have a higher probability than shorter molecules to form a junction for both Ag and Au electrodes. For all molecules, the measured molecular junction length that is formed with the Ag electrodes was longer than that formed with Au electrodes. Furthermore, we can make a single atomic oxygen junction and can measure its conductance using Ag electrodes. These observations are attributed to a narrower gap of the Ag electrodes compared to that of the Au electrodes after the metal contact ruptures. Since there is a high probability of a molecular junction forming when using Ag electrodes, we can therefore perform a statistical analysis within the context of the material properties that are suitable for future molecular electronics.     

苯基分子器件 量子相干输运第一性原理研究

摘要：分子器件在纳米尺度下,电子的相干性将对体系的电导产生重大影响。本文基于第一性原理计算研究了苯分子连接于一维金属电极下的电荷输运性质。发现一维金电极连接下,不同的连接方式（para与meta）体系下的电导将会有显著差别,而一维铂电极连接下,体系的电导差别不大。我们通过计算电极的能带,发现金电极与铂电极在费米面处的散射态数目有差别。 当量子相干效应导致散射态局域化发生改变时,由于铂电极的通道数较多,电子依然可以通过扩展的通道输运,因此不同连接方式下的电导变化不明显。     

Chirality-assisted electronic cloaking of confined States in bilayer graphene

We show that the strong coupling of pseudospin orientation and charge carrier motion in bilayer graphene has a drastic effect on transport properties of ballistic p-n-p junctions. Electronic states with zero momentum parallel to the barrier are confined under it for one pseudospin orientation, whereas states with the opposite pseudospin tunnel through the junction totally uninfluenced by the presence of confined states. We demonstrate that the junction acts as a cloak for confined states, making them nearly invisible to electrons in the outer regions over a range of incidence angles. This behavior is manifested in the two-terminal conductance as transmission resonances with non-Lorentzian, singular peak shapes. The response of these phenomena to a weak magnetic field or electric-field-induced interlayer gap can serve as an experimental fingerprint of electronic cloaking.     

Band structure and density of States effects in co-based magnetic tunnel junctions

Utilizing Co/Al(2)O(3)/Co magnetic tunnel junctions with Co electrodes of different crystalline phases, a clear relationship between electrode crystal structure and junction transport properties is presented. For junctions with one fcc(111) textured and one polycrystalline (polyphase and polydirectional) Co electrode, a strong asymmetry is observed in the magnetotransport properties, while when both electrodes are polycrystalline the magnetotransport is essentially symmetric. These observations are successfully explained within a model based on ballistic tunneling between the calculated band structures (density of states) of fcc-Co and hcp-Co.     

First-principles study on the electronic transport properties of M/SiC Schottky junctions (M=Ag,Au and Pd)

In this work, we investigate the electronic transport properties of M/SiC Schottky junctions (M=Ag, Au and Pd). The results show that the band structures of hydrogenated zigzag SiC nanoribbons (ZSiCNRs) and hydrogenated armchair SiC nanoribbons (ASiCNRs) are almost unaffected by their width changes. When the hydrogenated 7-ASiCNR is directly connected to the Ag, Au and Pd electrode, the transmission spectra of three metal-semiconductor junctions show that the Fermi level of metal is pinned to a fixed position in the semiconductor band gap of hydrogenated 7-ASiCNR. The nearly same rectifying current-voltage characteristics are found in three metal-semiconductor junctions. The average rectification ratios of three M/SiC Schottky junctions are all in the neighborhood of 10⁶. In other word, the M/SiC Schottky junction has remarkable application prospect as the candidate for Schottky Diode.     

耦合形貌对Si4团簇电子输运影响的第一性原理计算

运用密度泛函理论与非平衡格林函数相结合的方法,对Si₄团簇与Au （100）-3×3两电极以顶位-顶位、顶位-空位、空位-空位三种形貌相连构成的Au-Si₄-Au纳米结点的拉伸过程进行第一性原理模拟,计算不同构型纳米结点在不同距离的电导和结合能.讨论耦合形貌、距离对结点电导的影响,结合能的计算表明三种不同耦合形貌结点存在稳定平衡结构,其平衡电导分别为0.71 G₀、0.96 G₀和2.44 G₀,且在-1.2 V~1.2 V的电压范围内,三种不同耦合形貌结点稳定结构表现出类似金属的导电特性,其I-V关系都近似为直线.计算结果表明Si₄团簇与电极的耦合形貌、两极距离对纳米结点电子输运有重要影响.     

Excellent thermoelectric performance in weak-coupling molecular junctions with electrode doping and electrochemical gating

Excellent thermoelectric performance in molecular junctions requires a high power factor, a low thermal conductance, and a maximum figure of merit(ZT) near the Fermi level. In the present work, we used density functional theory in combination with a nonequilibrium Green's function to investigate the thermoelectric performance of carbon chain-graphene junctions with both strong-coupling and weak-coupling contact between the electrodes and the molecules. The results revealed that a room temperature ZT of 4 could be obtained for the weak-coupling molecular junction, approximately one order of magnitude higher than that reached by the strong-coupling junction. The reason for this is that strong interfacial scattering suppresses most of the phonon modes in weak-coupling systems, resulting in ultralow phonon thermal conductance. The influence of electrode width,electrode doping, and electrochemical gating on the thermoelectric performance of the weak-coupling system was also investigated, and the results revealed that an excellent thermoelectric performance can be obtained near the Fermi level.     

Transport in fullerene device coupled to Cu,Ag and Au electrodes

We present an ab initio approach of the electronic transport through a single molecular junction based on C₂₀ fullerene. The electronic properties of a single molecular junction constrained within two semi-infinite metallic electrodes are largely affected by the choice of electrode material. The two-probe device formed by the mechanically control break technique has been modelled with three distinct electrode materials from group IB of the periodic table, namely copper, silver and gold. The quantum characteristics of these mechanically stable devices are obtained by utilising first-principle density functional theory together with non-equilibrium green function method. We evaluate the quantum characteristics, namely density of states, transmission spectrum, energy levels, current and conductance, which essentially determine the behaviour of a molecule linked to different electrodes. Our investigation concludes that copper, silver and gold electrode configuration in conjunction with C₂₀ fullerene behaves as metallic, non-metallic and semi-metallic in nature, respectively.     

金电极下二元化合物氮化镓链结构演化和电导的从头计算

基于从头密度泛函理论结合非平衡格林函数方法,首次研究了二元化合物GaN链介于两个金电极之间的电子输运性质。模拟了Au-(GaN)2-Au节点断裂过程,计算了相应的结合能,获得了平衡态电导以及平衡态下节点的投影态密度。此外,计算了平衡态下节点在微小偏压下的电流和电导。结果发现,随着偏压增强,GaN分子链的电导也随之下降。最后给出的伏安特性曲线呈现一个非线性关系,表明节点具有类似半导体的特征。     

Highly conductive molecular junctions based on direct binding of benzene to platinum electrodes

Highly conductive molecular junctions were formed by direct binding of benzene molecules between two Pt electrodes. Measurements of conductance, isotopic shift in inelastic spectroscopy, and shot noise compared with calculations provide indications for a stable molecular junction where the benzene molecule is preserved intact and bonded to the Pt leads via carbon atoms. The junction has a conductance comparable to that for metallic atomic junctions (around 0.1-1G0), where the conductance and the number of transmission channels are controlled by the molecule's orientation at different interelectrode distances.     

Current–Voltage Characteristics of the Aziridine-Based Nano-Molecular Wires: a Light-Driven Molecular Switch

Using nonequilibrium Green's function formalism combined first-principles density functional theory, we analyze the transport properties of a 4,4-dimethyl-6-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-phenyl-3,5-diaza-bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene molecular optical switch. The title molecule can convert between closed and open forms by visible or ultraviolet irradiation. The I-V characteristics, differential conductance, on-off ratio, electronic transmission coefficients, spatial distribution of molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian orbitals, HOMO-LUMO gaps, effect of electrode materials Y(111)(Y =Au, Ag and Pt) on electronic transport and different molecular geometries corresponding to the closed and open forms through the molecular device are discussed in detail. Based on the results, as soon as possible the open form translates to the closed form, and there is a switch from the ON state to the OFF state(low resistance switches to high resistance). Theoretical results show that the donor/acceptor substituent plays an important role in the electronic transport of molecular devices. The switching performance can be improved to some extent through suitable donor and acceptor substituents.     

Effect of carbon nanotubes chirality on the E–C photo-isomerization switching behavior in moelcular device

Applying nonequilibrium Green's function formalism in combination with the first-principles density functional theory, we investigate the electronic transport properties of optical molecular switch based on the fulgide molecule with two different single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrodes. The molecule that comprises the switch can convert between E isomer and C isomer by ultraviolet or visible irradiation. Theoretical results show that these two isomers exhibit very different conductance properties both in armchair and zigzag junction, which can realize the on and off states of the molecular switch. Meantime, the chirality of the SWCNT electrodes strongly affects the switching characteristics of the molecular junctions, which is useful for the design of functional molecular devices.     

一维线性非共轭石墨烯基(CH2)n分子链的电子输运

一维非共轭烷烃链虽不具富电子或少电子特征,但常存在于单分子器件或多肽、蛋白质等生物分子中,对电子传输产生重要影响.为理解这类物质的电子输运特征,本研究设计了一维线性非共轭(CH2)n分子结模型,并利用密度泛函理论结合非平衡态格林函数的方法,对(CH2)n(n=1-12)线性分子链与两个石墨烯电极耦合而成的分子结进行了第一性原理计算.结果表明,CH2分子链随着n值的变化,其电导值表现出明显的奇偶振荡现象,并且随着链长的增加呈指数级的衰减,这一结果与实验研究取得了很好的一致性,为理解和设计性能更加优良的单分子器件提供了重要理论依据.     

Role of inter-tube coupling and quantum interference on electrical transport in carbon nanotube junctions

Due to excellent transport properties, Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show a lot of promise in sensor and interconnect technology. However, recent studies indicate that the conductance in CNT/CNT junctions are strongly affected by the morphology and orientation between the tubes. For proper utilization of such junctions in the development of CNT based technology, it is essential to study the electronic properties of such junctions. This work presents a theoretical study of the electrical transport properties of metallic Carbon nanotube homo-junctions. The study focuses on discerning the role of inter-tube interactions, quantum interference and scattering on the transport properties on junctions between identical tubes. The electronic structure and transport calculations are conducted with an Extended Hückel Theory-Non Equilibrium Green's Function based model. The calculations indicate conductance to be varying with a changing crossing angle, with maximum conductance corresponding to lattice registry, i.e. parallel configuration between the two tubes. Further calculations for such parallel configurations indicate onset of short and long range oscillations in conductance with respect to changing overlap length. These oscillations are attributed to inter-tube coupling effects owing to changing π orbital overlap, carrier scattering and quantum interference of the incident, transmitted and reflected waves at the inter-tube junction.