Non-equilibrium transport response from equilibrium transport theory

We propose a simple scheme that describes accurately essential non-equilibrium effects in nanoscale electronics devices using equilibrium transport theory. The scheme, which is based on the alignment and dealignment of the junction molecular orbitals with the shifted Fermi levels of the electrodes, simplifies drastically the calculation of current-voltage characteristics compared to typical non-equilibrium algorithms. We probe that the scheme captures a number of non-trivial transport phenomena such as the negative differential resistance and rectification effects. It applies to those atomic-scale junctions whose relevant states for transport are spatially placed on the contact atoms or near the electrodes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted in Physical Review

Impact of Fano and Breit-Wigner resonances in the thermoelectric properties of nanoscale junctions

We show that the thermoelectric properties of nanoscale junctions featuring states near the Fermi level strongly depend on the type of resonance generated by such states, which can be either Fano or Breit-Wigner-like. We give general expressions for the thermoelectric coefficients generated by the two types of resonances and calculate the thermoelectric properties of these systems, which encompass most nanoelectronics junctions. We include simulations of real junctions where metalloporphyrin molecules bridge gold electrodes and prove that for some metallic elements the thermoelectric properties show a large variability. We find that the thermopower and figure of merit are largely enhanced when the resonance gets close to the Fermi level and reach values much higher than typical values found in other nanoscale junctions. The specific value and temperature dependence are determined by a series of factors such as the strength of the coupling between the state and other molecular states, the symmetry of the state, the strength of the coupling between the molecule and the leads and the spin filtering behavior of the junction.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure

Symmetry-induced interference effects in metalloporphyrin wires

Organo-metallic molecular structures where a single metallic atom is embedded in the organic backbone are ideal systems to study the effect of strong correlations on their electronic structure. In this work we calculate the electronic and transport properties of a series of metalloporphyrin molecules sandwiched by gold electrodes using a combination of density functional theory and scattering theory. The impact of strong correlations at the central metallic atom is gauged by comparing our results obtained using conventional DFT and DFT+U approaches. The zero bias transport properties may or may not show spin-filtering behavior, depending on the nature of the d state closest to the Fermi energy. The type of d state depends on the metallic atom and gives rise to interference effects that produce different Fano features. The inclusion of the U term opens a gap between the d states and changes qualitatively the conductance and spin-filtering behavior in some of the molecules. We explain the origin of the quantum interference effects found as due to the symmetry-dependent coupling between the d states and other molecular orbitals and propose the use of these systems as nanoscale chemical sensors. We also demonstrate that an adequate treatment of strong correlations is really necessary to correctly describe the transport properties of metalloporphyrins and similar molecular magnets

Universality in the transport response of molecular wires physisorbed onto graphene electrodes

We analyze the low-voltage transport response of large molecular wires bridging graphene electrodes, where the molecules are physisorbed onto the graphene sheets by planar anchor groups. In our study, the sheets are pulled away to vary the gap length and the relative atomic positions. The molecular wires are also translated in directions parallel and perpendicular to the sheets. We show that the energy position of the Breit-Wigner molecular resonances is universal for a given molecule, in the sense that it is independent of the details of the graphene edges, gaps lengths or of the molecule positions. We discuss the need to converge carefully the k-sampling to provide reasonable values of the conductance.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Giant thermopower and figure of merit in single-molecule devices

We present a study of the thermopower $S$ and the dimensionless figure of merit $ZT$ in molecules sandwiched between gold electrodes. We show that for molecules with side groups, the shape of the transmission coefficient can be dramatically modified by Fano resonances near the Fermi energy, which can be tuned to produce huge increases in $S$ and $ZT$. This shows that molecules exhibiting Fano resonances have a high efficiency of thermoelectric cooling which is not present for conventional un-gated molecules with only delocalized states along their backbone.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Crafting zero-bias one-way transport of charge and spin

We explore the electronic structure and transport properties of a metal on top of a (weakly coupled) two-dimensional topological insulator. Unlike the widely studied junctions between topological non-trivial materials, the systems studied here allow for a unique bandstructure and transport steering. First, states on the topological insulator layer may coexist with the gapless bulk and, second, the edge states on one edge can be selectively switched-off, thereby leading to nearly perfect directional transport of charge and spin even in the zero bias limit. We illustrate these phenomena for Bernal stacked bilayer graphene with Haldane or intrinsic spin-orbit terms and a perpendicular bias voltage. This opens a path for realizing directed transport in materials such as van der Waals heterostructures, monolayer and ultrathin topological insulators.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Structure and electronic properties of molybdenum monoatomic wires encapsulated in carbon nanotubes

Monoatomic chains of molybdenum encapsulated in single walled carbon nanotubes of different chiralities are investigated using density functional theory. We determine the optimal size of the carbon nanotube for encapsulating a single atomic wire, as well as the most stable atomic arrangement adopted by the wire. We also study the transport properties in the ballistic regime by computing the transmission coefficients and tracing them back to electronic conduction channels of the wire and the host. We predict that carbon nanotubes of appropriate radii encapsulating a Mo wire have metallic behavior, even if both the nanotube and the wire are insulators. Therefore, encapsulating Mo wires in CNT is a way to create conductive quasi one-dimensional hybrid nanostructures.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure

Impact of dimerization and stretching on the transport properties of molybdenum atomic wires

We study the electrical and transport properties of monoatomic Mo wires with different structural characteristics. We consider first periodic wires with inter-atomic distances ranging between the dimerized wire to that formed by equidistant atoms. We find that the dimerized case has a gap in the electronic structure which makes it insulating, as opposed to the equidistant or near-equidistant cases which are metallic. We also simulate two conducting one-dimensional Mo electrodes separated by a scattering region which contains a number of dimers between 1 and 6. The $I-V$ characteristics strongly depend on the number of dimers and vary from ohmic to tunneling, with the presence of different gaps. We also find that stretched chains are ferromagnetic.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Impact of edge shape on the functionalities of graphene-based single-molecule electronics devices

We present an ab-initio analysis of the impact of edge shape and graphene-molecule anchor coupling on the electronic and transport functionalities of graphene-based molecular electronics devices. We analyze how Fano-like resonances, spin filtering and negative differential resistance effects may or may not arise by modifying suitably the edge shapes and the terminating groups of simple organic molecules. We show that the spin filtering effect is a consequence of the magnetic behavior of zigzag-terminated edges, which is enhanced by furnishing these with a wedge shape. The negative differential resistance effect is originated by the presence of two degenerate electronic states localized at each of the atoms coupling the molecule to graphene which are strongly affected by a bias voltage. The effect could thus be tailored by a suitable choice of the molecule and contact atoms if edge shape could be controlled with atomic precision.Comment: 11 pages, 20 figure