Intuitive human interface to a scanning tunnelling microscope: observation of parity oscillations for a single atomic chain

• Sumit Tewari,
• Jacob Bakermans,
• Christian Wagner,
• Federica Galli and
• Jan M. van Ruitenbeek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 337–348, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.33

• one-dimensional (1D) systems and are known to be formed only in pure metals such as Au, Pt and Ir. They have been studied by collecting large amounts of statistics using mechanically controlled break junction (MCBJ) [8][30] and scanning tunnelling microscope break junction (STMBJ) [31] techniques

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of difurylethene-based photochromic single-molecule junctions

• Youngsang Kim,
• Safa G. Bahoosh,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Fabian Pauly and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2606–2614, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.261

• theoretical analysis of charge transport through diarylethene-derived single-molecule devices, which are created using the mechanically controlled break-junction technique. Inelastic electron tunneling (IET) spectroscopy measurements performed at 4.2 K are compared with first-principles calculations in the

Thermo-voltage measurements of atomic contacts at low temperature

• Ayelet Ofarim,
• Bastian Kopp,
• Thomas Möller,
• León Martin,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 767–775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.68

• ]. Experimental techniques such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and the mechanically controlled break-junction (MCBJ) technique allow investigation of transport properties of atomic-scale devices [18]. Therefore, most approaches for measurements of thermo-voltage, or simultaneous measurements of

Probing the local environment of a single OPE3 molecule using inelastic tunneling electron spectroscopy

• Riccardo Frisenda,
• Mickael L. Perrin and
• Herre S. J. van der Zant

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2477–2484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.257

• investigate the IETS signal of an oligo(phenylene ethynylene)dithiol molecule (OPE3) single-molecule junction at liquid helium temperature (4.2 K). Exploiting the high stability of the mechanically controlled break junction technique in cryogenic vacuum, we investigate the evolution of the junction in time

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

• Riccardo Frisenda,
• Simge Tarkuç,
• Elena Galán,
• Mickael L. Perrin,
• Rienk Eelkema,
• Ferdinand C. Grozema and
• Herre S. J. van der Zant

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1558–1567, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.159

• 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 groups: thiol (SAc), methyl sulfide (SMe), pyridyl (Py) and amine (NH2). The focus of this paper is on the

Electrical characterization of single molecule and Langmuir–Blodgett monomolecular films of a pyridine-terminated oligo(phenylene-ethynylene) derivative

• Henrry M. Osorio,
• Santiago Martín,
• María Carmen López,
• Santiago Marqués-González,
• Simon J. Higgins,
• Richard J. Nichols,
• Paul J. Low and
• Pilar Cea

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1145–1157, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.116

• Zhao et al. [108] who reported a conductance of 3.16 × 10−5 G0 for 1 using the mechanically controlled break junction method (MCBJ). The I–V curve determined for the LB film at 2.5 nA and 0.6 V is in excellent agreement with the SMC value of 1 obtained by means of the I(s) method. This result indicates

Current–voltage characteristics of single-molecule diarylethene junctions measured with adjustable gold electrodes in solution

• Bernd M. Briechle,
• Youngsang Kim,
• Philipp Ehrenreich,
• Artur Erbe,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Ulrich Groth and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 798–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.89

• current–voltage characteristics of these junctions are measured in a mechanically controlled break-junction system at room temperature and in liquid environment. We compare the transport properties of a series of molecules, labeled TSC, MN, and 4Py, with the same switching core but varying side-arms and

Revealing thermal effects in the electronic transport through irradiated atomic metal point contacts

• Bastian Kopp,
• Zhiwei Yi,
• Daniel Benner,
• Fang-Qing Xie,
• Christian Obermair,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 703–711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.80

• pulses. For comparison, a signal obtained in earlier measurements on a mechanically controlled break-junction (MCBJ) is shown in Figure 2b [16]. In the latter case, the signal is caused by a change in the ohmic conductance of the junction. The signal in Figure 2a, however, contains a dominating

• illumination (see Figure 1) in an electrochemical environment. Blue: laser pulse (duration 1 ms). (b) Red: Light-induced signal under illumination of a mechanically controlled break-junction. Blue: laser pulse (duration 0.5 ms) [16]. Spatial dependence of the light-induced signal (see Figure 2a) for the two

An MCBJ case study: The influence of π-conjugation on the single-molecule conductance at a solid/liquid interface

• Wenjing Hong,
• Hennie Valkenier,
• Gábor Mészáros,
• David Zsolt Manrique,
• Artem Mishchenko,
• Alexander Putz,
• Pavel Moreno García,
• Colin J. Lambert,
• Jan C. Hummelen and
• Thomas Wandlowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 699–713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.76

• molecular junctions. We describe in this paper the construction of a mechanically controlled break-junction setup (MCBJ) equipped with a highly sensitive log I–V converter in order to measure ultralow conductances of molecular rods trapped between two gold leads. The current resolution of the setup reaches

• current–distance and current–voltage measurements revealed details of the influence of π-conjugation on the single-molecule conductance. Keywords: anthraquinone; π-conjugation; mechanically controlled break junction; single-molecule conductance; Introduction Molecular electronics has expanded

• large-area molecular junctions, is not directly accessible, thus preventing the downscaling to an “effective” single-molecule-junction response. Conclusion We described in this paper the construction of a mechanically controlled break-junction setup (MCBJ) equipped with a highly sensitive log I–V