title: Vibrational heating in single-molecule switches: an energy-dependent density-of-states approach.
abstract: In recent experiments, it has been shown that the switching rate of single-molecule switches can show a rather complicated dependence on the applied bias voltage. Here, we discuss a minimal model which describes the switching process in terms of inelastic scattering processes of the tunneling electron by specific molecular vibrations. One important point is the introduction of an energy-dependent electronic density of states around the Fermi energy. The influence of different model parameters on the switching rate is studied and we show that the inclusion of a variable density of states allows us to understand the non-monotonic behavior of the switching rate observed in some experiments.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, Dresden University of Technology, D-01062 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brumme
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cuniberti
mesh_terms: D006358:Hot Temperature; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014732:Vibration