Abstract
We report the first study of electrical contact with an individual molecule (). Using a scanning tunneling microscope tip, the electrical current flowing as a function of tip displacement towards the molecule is investigated [ characteristics]. The tunneling current increases approximately exponentially with tip displacement in the tunnel regime, but this behavior changes significantly as contact is established. From the data and calculations for we determine an apparent electrical resistance of 54.80 M for the junction at “tip contact.” In the Landauer formalism, this value is a measurement of the electronic transparence of the molecule under the tip.
- Received 5 July 1994
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.2102
©1995 American Physical Society