Optical modulation of nano-gap tunnelling junctions comprising self-assembled monolayers of hemicyanine dyes

Abstract

Flow of electricity between two electrodes can be tuned by monolayers of organic compounds. Here, Pourhossein et al. show that the tunnelling current of such molecular junctions can be modulated rapidly by illumination, using nanoskived gold wires separated by a self-assembled monolayer of hemicyanine dyes.