AVS 51st International Symposium
    Organic Films and Devices Thursday Sessions
       Session OF+NS-ThM

Paper OF+NS-ThM6
Two Distinct Types of Switching Behavior in a Single Molecule

Thursday, November 18, 2004, 10:00 am, Room 304C

Session: Molecular Electronics
Presenter: A.S. Blum, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: A.S. Blum, Naval Research Laboratory
J.G. Kushmerick, Naval Research Laboratory
C.H. Patterson, Naval Research Laboratory
J.C. Yang, Duke University
J.C. Henderson, Rice University
Y. Yao, Rice University
J.M. Tour, Rice University
R. Shashidhar, Geo-Centers, Inc.
B.R. Ratna, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
There is recent controversy surrounding the ability of molecules to function as switches in molecular electronic devices. We report the observation of two distinct types of switching in matrix isolated and complete monolayers of bipyridyl-dinitro-oligophenylene-ethynylene (BPDN). Extensive measurements in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) demonstrate both stochastic and voltage driven switching in this molecule, representing the first description of two distinct types of switching in a single molecule. While stochastic switching has been reported for several molecular systems, we argue that the observed voltage controlled switching is a distinct physical event specific to BPDN. Furthermore, consistent switching behavior measured with both a scanning tunneling microscope and a crossed-wire tunnel junction demonstrates that the switching is intrinsic to the molecule and is not an artifact of the measurement system.