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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik
MO 18: Experimental Techniques and Various Topics
MO 18.7: Talk
Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 18:00–18:15, MER 02
Metal-molecule contacts in liquid environments — •Sascha Berger1, Jannic Wolf2, Thomas Kirchner2, Thomas Huhn2, Elke Scheer2, and Arthur Erbe1 — 1Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf — 2Universitaet Konstanz
The definition of metal-molecule contacts is the first step on the development of molecular electronic components. Using the mechanically controlled break junction (MCBJ) technique single molecules can be contacted reliably under varying conditions. Here we demonstrate contacts to oligo (phenylene-ethynylene) molecules with two or three phenylene units, which are attached to the metal electrodes via Thiol anchoring groups, in a liquid environment. The junctions are characterized by recording current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. From these curves we extract the position of the molecular energy level, which contributes to the electric current through the junction, and the strength of the coupling to the electrodes. We can show that symmetric coupling to the two metallic electrodes leads to symmetric I-V-curves, while asymmetric coupling is reflected in asymmetric curves. We demonstrate that controlled changes in the design of the molecules lead to changes in the conduction properties of the junctions.