Tunnel current across linear homocatenated germanium chains
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Nara National College of Technology Yatacho 22, Yamato-koriyama, Nara 539-1080 (Japan)
The electronic transport properties of germanium oligomers catenating into linear chains (linear Ge chains) have been theoretically studied using first principle methods. The conduction mechanism of a Ge chain sandwiched between gold electrodes was analyzed based on the density of states and the eigenstates of the molecule in a two-probe environment. Like that of silicon chains (Si chains), the highest occupied molecular orbital of Ge chains contains the extended σ-conjugation of Ge 4p orbitals at energy levels close to the Fermi level; this is in contrast to the electronic properties of linear carbon chains. Furthermore, the conductance of a Ge chain is expected to decrease exponentially with molecular length L. The decay constant β, which is defined as e{sup −βL}, of a Ge chain is similar to that of a Si chain, whereas the conductance of the Ge chains is higher than that of Si chains even though the Ge–Ge bond length is longer than the Si–Si bond length.
- OSTI ID:
- 22275663
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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