Emergence of photoswitchable states in a graphene-azobenzene-Au platform

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the reversible optical control of resonance states in a graphene-molecule hybrid, enabling optically programmable charge transport at the nanoscale, which could advance graphene-based optoelectronic devices.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of photo-switchable resonance states in a graphene-molecular hybrid, linking molecular conformation changes to tunable electronic properties.

Findings

Reversible gating of current resonances via optical switching of molecular conformation.

Resonance voltage separation indicates a nanoscale gating potential of about 7 nm radius.

Potential for optically controlled carrier dynamics in graphene-based nanomaterials.

Abstract

The perfect transmission of charge carriers through potential barriers in graphene (Klein tunneling) is a direct consequence of the Dirac equation that governs the low-energy carrier dynamics. As a result, localized states do not exist in unpatterned graphene, but quasi-bound states \emph{can} occur for potentials with closed integrable dynamics. Here, we report the observation of resonance states in photo-switchable self-assembled molecular(SAM)-graphene hybrid. Conductive AFM measurements performed at room temperature reveal strong current resonances, the strength of which can be reversibly gated \textit{on-} and \textit{off-} by optically switching the molecular conformation of the mSAM. Comparisons of the voltage separation between current resonances ($\sim 70$--$120$ mV) with solutions of the Dirac equation indicate that the radius of the gating potential is $\sim 7 \pm 2$ nm with a strength $\geq 0.5$ eV. Our results and methods might provide a route toward \emph{optically programmable} carrier dynamics and transport in graphene nano-materials.