, Observation of negative differential resistance in DNA molecular junctions

The mechanically controllable break junction technique is used to study charge transport through suspended DNA molecules. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in an aqueous solution display series of negative differential resistance (NDR) and hysteresis behavior. Under high-vacuum conditions, the peak positions of NDR shift to lower voltage, and the amplitude is reduced dramatically. The observed NDR behavior is consistent with the polarization mechanism in DNA molecular junctions, which demonstrates a change in the coupling of the molecular level to a polaron mode under different environment.