TY - JOUR
T1 - Dynamical image-charge effect in molecular tunnel junctions
T2 - Beyond energy level alignment
AU - Jin, Chengjun
AU - Thygesen, Kristian Sommer
N1 - ©2014 American Physical Society
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - When an electron tunnels between two metal contacts it temporarily induces an image charge (IC) in the electrodes which acts back on the tunneling electron. It is usually assumed that the IC forms instantaneously such that a static model for the image potential applies. Here we investigate how the finite IC formation time affects charge transport through a molecule suspended between two electrodes. For a single-level model, an analytical treatment shows that the conductance is suppressed by a factor Z(2), where Z is the quasiparticle renormalization factor, compared to the static IC approximation. We show that Z can be expressed either in terms of the plasma frequency of the electrode or as the overlap between electrode wave functions corresponding to an empty and filled level, respectively. First-principles GW calculations for benzene-diamine connected to gold electrodes show that the dynamical corrections can reduce the conductance by more than a factor of two when compared to static GW or density functional theory where the molecular energy levels have been shifted to match the exact quasiparticle levels.
AB - When an electron tunnels between two metal contacts it temporarily induces an image charge (IC) in the electrodes which acts back on the tunneling electron. It is usually assumed that the IC forms instantaneously such that a static model for the image potential applies. Here we investigate how the finite IC formation time affects charge transport through a molecule suspended between two electrodes. For a single-level model, an analytical treatment shows that the conductance is suppressed by a factor Z(2), where Z is the quasiparticle renormalization factor, compared to the static IC approximation. We show that Z can be expressed either in terms of the plasma frequency of the electrode or as the overlap between electrode wave functions corresponding to an empty and filled level, respectively. First-principles GW calculations for benzene-diamine connected to gold electrodes show that the dynamical corrections can reduce the conductance by more than a factor of two when compared to static GW or density functional theory where the molecular energy levels have been shifted to match the exact quasiparticle levels.
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.89.041102
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.89.041102
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0163-1829
VL - 89
JO - Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
JF - Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
IS - 4
M1 - 041102
ER -