Intrinsic Electronic Conduction Mechanisms in Self-Assembled Monolayers

A review on the mechanisms and characterization methods of molecular electronic transport is presented. Using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols in a nanometer scale device structure, tunneling is unambiguously demonstrated as the main conduction mechanism for large bandgap SAMs, exhibiting well-known temperature and length dependencies. Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy exhibits clear vibrational modes of the molecules in the device, presenting the first direct evidence of the presence of molecules in a molecular device.