Negative differential electrical resistance of a rotational organic nanomotor

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a nanoelectromechanical switch using an organic nanomotor that exhibits negative differential resistance due to electric field-induced rotation, analyzed through ab initio density functional calculations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel organic nanomotor-based switch showing negative differential resistance, advancing nanoelectromechanical device design.

Findings

Electric field induces rotation of the pendant group.

The device exhibits strong non-linear current-voltage behavior.

Negative differential resistance occurs at modest voltages.

Abstract

A robust nanoelectromechanical switch is proposed based upon an asymmetric pendant moiety anchored to an organic backbone between two C60 fullerenes, which in turn are connected to gold electrodes. Ab initio density functional calculations are used to demonstrate that an electric field induces rotation of the pendant group, leading to a non-linear current-voltage relation. The non-linearity is strong enough to lead to negative differential resistance at modest source-drain voltages.