title: Manipulating transport through a single-molecule junction.
abstract: Molecular Electronics deals with the realization of elementary electronic devices that rely on a single molecule. For electronic applications, the most important property of a single molecule is its conductance. Here we show how the conductance of a single octanethiol molecule can be measured and manipulated by varying the contact's interspace. This mechanical gating of the single molecule junction leads to a variation of the conductance that can be understood in terms of a tunable image charge effect. The image charge effect increases with a decrease of the contact's interspace due to a reduction of the effective potential barrier height of 1.5 meV/pm.
authors: Physics of Interfaces and Nanomaterials, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors: Kai
authors: K
authors: Sotthewes
authors: René
authors: R
authors: Heimbuch
authors: Harold J W
authors: HJ
authors: Zandvliet