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arXiv · cond-mat/9711196

Shuttle Mechanism for Charge Transfer in Coulomb Blockade Nanostructures

Abstract

Room-temperature Coulomb blockade of charge transport through composite nanostructures containing organic inter-links has recently been observed. A pronounced charging effect in combination with the softness of the molecular links implies that charge transfer gives rise to a significant deformation of these structures. For a simple model system containing one nanoscale metallic cluster connected by molecular links to two bulk metallic electrodes we show that self-excitation of periodic cluster oscillations in conjunction with sequential processes of cluster charging and decharging appears for a sufficiently large bias voltage. This new `electron shuttle' mechanism of discrete charge transfer gives rise to a current through the nanostructure, which is proportional to the cluster vibration frequency.

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L. Y. Gorelik, A. Isacsson, M. V. Voinova, B. Kasemo, R. I. Shekhter, M. Jonson. 1998-03-04. Shuttle Mechanism for Charge Transfer in Coulomb Blockade Nanostructures. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.80.4526

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