Design of nanoswitch based on C20-bowl molecules: A first principles study

We demonstrate theoretically by density functional non-equilibrium Green's function method that a much simplest two-terminal wire can exhibit switching, and we present a realistic theory of its behavior. We consider a C20-bowl molecular wire sandwiched between an Au (1 0 0) substrate and a monatomic Au scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip. Lateral motion of the tip over the pentagon ring causes it to change from one conformation class to the other and to switch between a strongly and a weakly conducting state. Thus, surprisingly, despite their apparent simplicity, these Au/C20/Au nanowires are shown to be a convenient switch, the simplest two-terminal molecular switches to date. Experiments with a conventional STM are proposed to test these predictions.