Condensed Matter Seminar Series

Inelastic Effects in Molecular Conduction: 
Inelastic Spectra, Resonant Tunneling and Noise

Abraham Nitzan

Weizmann Institute

Thursday February 8,  11:30 am,  Room 298,  Physics Building

Abstract:  In this talk, I will first review our recent theoretical work on inelastic electron tunneling and inelastic tunneling spectra in off-resonance situations,[1-3] and then consider situations characterized by strong electron-phonon coupling.[4-6] Timescale and coupling strength issues are discussed with regards to non-linear response (bistability, hysteresis, and switching).[4] A new numerical approach to the calculation of inelastic tunneling currents in the strong coupling limit will be described and applied to evaluate resonant tunneling spectra.[5] We also analyze the effect of electron-phonon coupling on the current noise spectra of molecular junction, in both the weak and the strong coupling limits, with emphasis on the information on junction properties that can be extracted from the noise spectrum.[6] 

1. M. Galperin, M. Ratner and A. Nitzan, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 11965-11979 (2004)
2. M. Galperin, M. Ratner and A. Nitzan, Nano Letters, 4, 1605-1611 (2004)
3. M. Galperin, A. Nitzan, M. A. Ratner and D. R. Stewart, J. Phys. Chem. B, 109, 8519-8522 (2005)
4. M. Galperin, M. A. Ratner and A. Nitzan, Nano Letters, 5, 125-130 (2005)
5. M. Galperin, A. Nitzan, and M. A. Ratner, Phys. Rev. B 73, 045314 (2006)
6. M. Galperin, A. Nitzan, and M. A. Ratner, cond-mat/0604029