Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 75: Organic/bio Molecules on Metal Surfaces VI
O 75.10: Talk
Thursday, March 14, 2013, 18:15–18:30, H38
Force and conductance of contacts to a C60 molecule — •Nadine Hauptmann1, Fabian Mohn2, Leo Gross2, Gerhard Meyer2, Thomas Frederiksen3, and Richard Berndt1 — 1Institut für Exp. und Angew. Physik der Universität Kiel (IEAP), D-24098 Kiel, Germany — 2IBM Research – Zurich, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland — 3Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), E-20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
When a single molecule is contacted to measure its conductance new bonds are formed and significant forces may arise. These forces affect the atomic-scale junction geometry, which is crucial for its transport properties. We present simultaneously measured low-temperature force and conductance data from controlled Cu-C60 and C60-C60 contacts with submolecular resolution. The contact conductances reported in prior works are shown to correspond to the junction being under maximal tensile stress. In order to estimate relaxations we fit the calculated conductance for a rigid system to the experimental data considering an effective spring constant for the molecular junction. The results indicate that most of the deformation in a Cu-C60 contact may be ascribed to relaxations of the Cu tip.