Reversible and controllable switching of a single-molecule junction

Abstract

The use of molecular electronics as functional building blocks in electronic circuits, and the reversible and controllable switching of a single-molecule junction, are discussed. A single molecule to two symmetric leads in a simple two terminal configuration can be reversibly and controllably switched between two stable states in response to an external voltage stimulus. Molecular electronics is aimed at the use of small ensembles or even individual molecules as functional building blocks in electronic circuits. The fundamental mechanisms responsible for voltage induced switching in sandwich structure indicate that the generic mechanism is dominated by the electrode properties or the molecule metal interfaces. The switching mechanism is gained by studying the temporal behavior of the switching process using a long current measurement integration time. The result shows that the metal single BPDN-DT molecule metal system can be controlled and reversibly switched between two distinct states.