Electrical properties and mechanical stability of anchoring groups for single-molecule electronics

We report on an experimental investigation of transport through single molecules, trapped between two gold nano-electrodes fabricated with the mechanically controlled break junction (MCBJ) technique. The four molecules studied share the same core structure, namely oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE3), while having different aurophilic anchoring...

Charge transport in a zinc-porphyrin single-molecule junction

We have investigated charge transport in ZnTPPdT-Pyr (TPPdT: 5,15-di(p-thiolphenyl)-10,20-di(p-tolyl)porphyrin) molecular junctions using the lithographic mechanically controllable break-junction (MCBJ) technique at room temperature and cryogenic temperature (6 K). We combined low-bias statistical measurements with spectroscopy of the molecular...

A versatile low-temperature setup for the electrical characterization of single-molecule junctions

We present a modular high-vacuum setup for the electrical characterization of single molecules down to liquid helium temperatures. The experimental design is based on microfabricated mechanically controllable break junctions, which offer control over the distance of two electrodes via the bending of a flexible substrate. The actuator part of the...