Transition from Direct Tunneling to Field Emission in Metal-Molecule-Metal Junctions

Jeremy M. Beebe, BongSoo Kim, J. W. Gadzuk, C. Daniel Frisbie, and James G. Kushmerick
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 026801 – Published 10 July 2006

Abstract

Current-voltage measurements of metal-molecule-metal junctions formed from π-conjugated thiols exhibit an inflection point on a plot of ln(I/V2) vs 1/V, consistent with a change in transport mechanism from direct tunneling to field emission. The transition voltage was found to scale linearly with the offset in energy between the Au Fermi level and the highest occupied molecular orbital as determined by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Asymmetric voltage drops at the two metal-molecule interfaces cause the transition voltage to be dependent on bias polarity.

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  • Received 8 May 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.026801

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Jeremy M. Beebe1, BongSoo Kim2, J. W. Gadzuk1, C. Daniel Frisbie3,*, and James G. Kushmerick1,†

  • 1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
  • 2Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
  • 3Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA

  • *Electronic address: frisbie@cems.umn.edu
  • Electronic address: james.kushmerick@nist.gov

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Vol. 97, Iss. 2 — 14 July 2006

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