Vibrational absorption sidebands in the Coulomb blockade regime of single-molecule transistors

TL;DR

This paper develops an analytical theory for vibrational absorption sidebands in single-molecule transistors operating under Coulomb blockade, explaining experimental observations of vibrational effects in electron tunneling.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical framework for absorption sidebands in Coulomb blockaded single-molecule transistors, including current-voltage and shot noise analysis.

Findings

Absorption sidebands occur even in Coulomb blockade regimes.

The theory matches recent experimental data.

Vibrational effects significantly influence electron transport.

Abstract

Current-driven vibrational non-equilibrium induces vibrational sidebands in single-molecule transistors which arise from tunneling processes accompanied by absorption of vibrational quanta. Unlike conventional sidebands, these absorption sidebands occur in a regime where the current is nominally Coulomb blockaded. Here, we develop a detailed and analytical theory of absorption sidebands, including current-voltage characteristics as well as shot noise. We discuss the relation of our predictions to recent experiments.