Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantum interference enhances the performance of single-molecule transistors
AU - Chen, Zhixin
AU - Grace, Iain M.
AU - Woltering, Steffen L.
AU - Chen, Lina
AU - Gee, Alex
AU - Baugh, Jonathan
AU - Briggs, G. Andrew D.
AU - Bogani, Lapo
AU - Mol, Jan A.
AU - Lambert, Colin J.
AU - Anderson, Harry L.
AU - Thomas, James O.
PY - 2024/3/25
Y1 - 2024/3/25
N2 - Quantum effects in nanoscale electronic devices promise to lead to new types of functionality not achievable using classical electronic components. However, quantum behaviour also presents an unresolved challenge facing electronics at the few-nanometre scale: resistive channels start leaking owing to quantum tunnelling. This affects the performance of nanoscale transistors, with direct source–drain tunnelling degrading switching ratios and subthreshold swings, and ultimately limiting operating frequency due to increased static power dissipation. The usual strategy to mitigate quantum effects has been to increase device complexity, but theory shows that if quantum effects can be exploited in molecular-scale electronics, this could provide a route to lower energy consumption and boost device performance. Here we demonstrate these effects experimentally, showing how the performance of molecular transistors is improved when the resistive channel contains two destructively interfering waves. We use a zinc-porphyrin coupled to graphene electrodes in a three-terminal transistor to demonstrate a >10 4 conductance-switching ratio, a subthreshold swing at the thermionic limit, a >7 kHz operating frequency and stability over >10 5 cycles. We fully map the anti-resonance interference features in conductance, reproduce the behaviour by density functional theory calculations and trace back the high performance to the coupling between molecular orbitals and graphene edge states. These results demonstrate how the quantum nature of electron transmission at the nanoscale can enhance, rather than degrade, device performance, and highlight directions for future development of miniaturized electronics.
AB - Quantum effects in nanoscale electronic devices promise to lead to new types of functionality not achievable using classical electronic components. However, quantum behaviour also presents an unresolved challenge facing electronics at the few-nanometre scale: resistive channels start leaking owing to quantum tunnelling. This affects the performance of nanoscale transistors, with direct source–drain tunnelling degrading switching ratios and subthreshold swings, and ultimately limiting operating frequency due to increased static power dissipation. The usual strategy to mitigate quantum effects has been to increase device complexity, but theory shows that if quantum effects can be exploited in molecular-scale electronics, this could provide a route to lower energy consumption and boost device performance. Here we demonstrate these effects experimentally, showing how the performance of molecular transistors is improved when the resistive channel contains two destructively interfering waves. We use a zinc-porphyrin coupled to graphene electrodes in a three-terminal transistor to demonstrate a >10 4 conductance-switching ratio, a subthreshold swing at the thermionic limit, a >7 kHz operating frequency and stability over >10 5 cycles. We fully map the anti-resonance interference features in conductance, reproduce the behaviour by density functional theory calculations and trace back the high performance to the coupling between molecular orbitals and graphene edge states. These results demonstrate how the quantum nature of electron transmission at the nanoscale can enhance, rather than degrade, device performance, and highlight directions for future development of miniaturized electronics.
KW - Electrical and Electronic Engineering
KW - Condensed Matter Physics
KW - General Materials Science
KW - Biomedical Engineering
KW - Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
KW - Bioengineering
U2 - 10.1038/s41565-024-01633-1
DO - 10.1038/s41565-024-01633-1
M3 - Journal article
JO - Nature Nanotechnology
JF - Nature Nanotechnology
SN - 1748-3387
ER -