Transport via coupled states in a C60 peapod quantum dot

TL;DR

This study investigates how encapsulated C60 molecules inside a carbon nanotube affect electronic transport, revealing hybridization effects that could enable contacting the molecules through the nanotube.

Contribution

It demonstrates systematic avoided crossings in transport due to hybridization between a nanotube quantum dot and encapsulated C60 molecules, highlighting a general impurity coupling effect.

Findings

Observation of avoided crossings in transport data

Identification of C60 chain as the impurity

Potential for contacting encapsulated molecules

Abstract

We have measured systematic repetitions of avoided crossings in low temperature three-terminal transport through a carbon nanotube with encapsulated C60 molecules. We show that this is a general effect of the hybridization of a host quantum dot with an impurity. The well-defined nanotube allows identification of the properties of the impurity, which we suggest to be a chain of C60 molecules inside the nanotube. This electronic coupling between the two subsystems opens the interesting and potentially useful possibility of contacting the encapsulated molecules via the tube.