Electrical transport study of phenylene-based pi-conjugated molecules in a three-terminal geometry

We fabricated three-terminal devices with conjugated molecules. Two different device layouts were used to measure both very short molecules (with one or two benzene rings) and relatively long ones (as long as 8 nm). To achieve an optimum gate effect, we used aluminum gates covered with a very thin native oxide layer. Molecules with thiol end groups were positioned between the source and drain electrodes by self-assembly. The device yield was low for short molecules, most likely due to defects in the self-assembled monolayers. Most of the devices made with short molecules did not show any gate effect at all; a small gate effect was only observed in two samples made with 1,3-benzenedithiol. Some devices showed clear negative differential conductance peaks. In some devices made with long molecules, we observed a small change of conductance with gate voltage.