Modeling of Electronic Transport in Molecular-Scale Devices

Abstract

Miniaturization in electronics has motivated the development of molecular devices. Molecular devices can be defined as a technology utilizing the properties of matter at molecular scales to explore electronic functions and can involve a single molecule or small groups of molecules in device-based fabrication for electronic applications.

This report focuses on the modeling of electronic transport in molecular-scale devices. Quantum mechanical models for coherent transport and non-coherent are first presented. Coherent transport does not take phase-breaking processes and heat dissipation into consideration, while non-coherent transport takes both of these non-ideal effects into consideration. As a result, the model for non-coherent transport is more complex than the model for coherent transport. Examples based on these models are also given. Finally, the model for coherent transport is applied to molecular-scale devices with different potential barriers, and the transmission functions and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics are plotted and compared.