The Kondo effect in C${}_{60}$ single-molecule transistors

Abstract

We have used an electromigration technique to fabricate C${}_{60}$-based single-molecule transistors. We detail the process statistics and the protocols used to infer the successful formation of a single-molecule transistor. At low temperatures each transistor acts as a single-electron device in the Coulomb blockade regime. Resonances in the differential conductance indicate vibrational excitations consistent with a known mode of C${}_{60}$. In several devices we observe conductance features characteristic of the Kondo effect, a coherent many-body state comprising an unpaired spin on the molecule coupled by exchange to the conduction electrons of the leads. The inferred Kondo temperature typically exceeds 50 K, and signatures of the vibrational modes persist into the Kondo regime.

5 pages, four figures. Submitted to Nano Letters

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Inelastic electron tunneling via molecular vibrations in single-molecule transistors
• Many Body Effects on the Transport Properties of Single-Molecule Devices
• Kondo resonances and anomalous gate dependence of electronic conduction in single-molecule transistors
• Vibrational Sidebands and Kondo-effect in Molecular Transistors
• Quantum transport through a deformable molecular transistor
• Coulomb blockade in electron transport through a C${}_{60}$ molecule from first principles
• Josephson current through a molecular transistor in a dissipative environment
• Transport in single-molecule transistors: Kondo physics and negative differential resistance
• Magnetoconductance through a vibrating molecule in the Kondo regime
• Quantum Criticality in Ferromagnetic Single-Electron Transistors
• Dissipative tunneling and orthogonality catastrophe in molecular transistors