Field-Effect Modulation of the Conductance of Single Molecules

Field-effect transistors based on two-component self-assembled monolayers of conjugated and insulating molecules were prepared; the conductance through them can be varied by more than three orders of magnitude by changing the applied gate bias. With very small ratios of conjugated to insulating molecules in the two-component monolayer, devices with only a few “electrically active” molecules can be achieved. At low temperatures, the peak channel conductance is quantized in units of 2e 2/h (wheree is the electron charge and h is Planck's constant). This behavior is indicative of transistor action in single molecules. On the basis of such single-molecule transistors, inverter circuits with gain are demonstrated.

[1]  G. Whitesides,et al.  A Study by Contact Angle of the Acid-Base Behavior of Monolayers Containing W-Mercaptocarboxylic Acids Absorbed on Gold: An Example of Reactive Spreading , 1989 .

[2]  S. Tans,et al.  Room-temperature transistor based on a single carbon nanotube , 1998, Nature.

[3]  Hongjie Dai,et al.  Electrical measurements of individual semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes of various diameters , 2000 .

[4]  S. Datta,et al.  Charge transfer and “band lineup” in molecular electronic devices: A chemical and numerical interpretation , 2001 .

[5]  M. Reed,et al.  Room-Temperature Negative Differential Resistance in Nanoscale Molecular Junctions , 2000 .

[6]  M. Di Ventra,et al.  The benzene molecule as a molecular resonant-tunneling transistor , 2000 .

[7]  P. Avouris,et al.  Engineering Carbon Nanotubes and Nanotube Circuits Using Electrical Breakdown , 2001, Science.

[8]  Herbert Shea,et al.  Single- and multi-wall carbon nanotube field-effect transistors , 1998 .

[9]  Jason D. Monnell,et al.  Conductance Switching in Single Molecules Through Conformational Changes , 2001, Science.

[10]  J. F. Stoddart,et al.  A [2]Catenane-Based Solid State Electronically Reconfigurable Switch , 2000 .

[11]  Zhenan Bao,et al.  Self-assembled monolayer organic field-effect transistors , 2001, Nature.

[12]  Hideki Matsumura,et al.  Theoretical Consideration of a New Nanometer Transistor Using Metal/Insulator Tunnel-Junction , 1996 .

[13]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Phase behavior of two-component self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiolates on gold , 1994 .

[14]  K. Natori.  Ballistic metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor , 1994 .

[15]  J. Gimzewski,et al.  Electronics using hybrid-molecular and mono-molecular devices , 2000, Nature.

[16]  L. Torsi,et al.  Organic Transistors: Two-Dimensional Transport and Improved Electrical Characteristics , 1995, Science.

[17]  J. Tour,et al.  Are Single Molecular Wires Conducting? , 1996, Science.

[18]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Formation of two-component surfaces by the spontaneous assembly of monolayers on gold from solutions containing mixtures of organic thiols , 1988 .

[19]  Robert M. Metzger,et al.  ELECTRICAL RECTIFICATION BY A MOLECULE : THE ADVENT OF UNIMOLECULAR ELECTRONIC DEVICES , 1999 .

[20]  J. Gimzewski,et al.  An electromechanical amplifier using a single molecule , 1997 .