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Hand Controlled Manipulation of Single Molecules via a Scanning Probe Microscope with a 3D Virtual Reality Interface
Published on: October 2, 2016
Mastering the molecular dynamics of a bistable molecule by single atom manipulation
M Martin1, M Lastapis, D Riedel
1Laboratoire de Photophysique Moléculaire, Bâtiment 210, Université Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
Physical Review Letters
|December 13, 2006
Summary
A single biphenyl molecule on a silicon surface acts as a bistable switch. Removing a hydrogen atom with a scanning tunneling microscope transforms it into a multistable device with greatly enhanced switching yields.
Area of Science:
- Surface science
- Molecular electronics
- Scanning probe microscopy
Background:
- Single biphenyl molecules on Si(100) surfaces exhibit bistable behavior at low temperatures.
- This switching is controllable via electronic excitation using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip.
- Density functional theory (DFT) indicates initial adsorption involves a dissociated hydrogen atom bonded to a surface silicon atom.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the transformation of a single biphenyl molecule's electronic behavior on a Si(100) surface.
- To explore the effect of manipulating the molecule-surface interaction on its switching properties.
- To enhance the switching yield and stability of molecular devices.
Main Methods:
- Low-temperature (5 K) experimental setup utilizing a scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
- Electronic excitation and manipulation of a single adsorbed biphenyl molecule.
- Density functional theory (DFT) calculations to model molecule-surface interactions and adsorption configurations.
Main Results:
- A single biphenyl molecule on Si(100) functions as a bistable device at 5 K, switchable by STM tip excitation.
- DFT confirms initial adsorption involves a dissociated hydrogen atom bonded to a neighboring silicon atom.
- Desorption of this hydrogen atom by the STM tip modifies the molecule-surface interaction, creating a multistable device with four stable states.
- The switching yield of the multistable device is increased by nearly two orders of magnitude.
Conclusions:
- The molecular configuration and interaction with the Si(100) surface are critical for determining the switching behavior of adsorbed biphenyl molecules.
- STM-induced hydrogen desorption is an effective method for transforming bistable molecular devices into more complex multistable systems.
- This work demonstrates a pathway for enhancing the performance of single-molecule electronic devices through controlled manipulation of molecule-surface bonding.
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