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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 89: Inorganic/Organic Interfaces: Molecular Switches
O 89.6: Talk
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 16:15–16:30, MA 043
Reversible long range surface state mediated switching of pentacene derivates — •Verena Schendel1, Bogdana Borca1, Ivan Pentegov1, Ulrike Kraft1, Hagen Klauk1, Peter Wahl1,2, Uta Schlickum1, and Klaus Kern1,3 — 1Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research, D-70569 Stuttgart — 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, KY 16 9SS, United Kingdom — 3Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne
Molecular switches represent an essential building block for molecular electronics exhibiting two or more distinct stable states associated with different chemical/physical properties which are reversibly accessible. Therefore they constitute promising candidates for information storage. We report the use of low temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to image and electronically induce reversible conformational changes of the pentacene derivate antracenodithiophene (ADT). ADT adsorbs as statistically distributed monomers on a Cu(111) surface adopting a cis or trans configuration. The conformational switch of an entire array of single molecules is induced by injecting hot electrons from the tip directly into the bare Cu(111) substrate. The (111) faces of noble metals exhibit surface state electrons that have a free electron-like character. Due to the long inelastic mean free path of hot carriers in the surface state switching is enabled over distances on the order of 100 nm. The remote switching process is found to be isomer-selective. We demonstrate a switching process that is fully reversible, isomer selective as well as remotely controlled.