Rattling motion of a single atom in a fullerene cage molecule sensed by terahertz spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that terahertz spectroscopy with nanogap electrodes can detect ultrafast, picometer-scale motion of a single atom inside a fullerene cage, revealing new possibilities for nanoscale ultrafast science.

Contribution

First to use THz spectroscopy with nanogap electrodes to observe single-atom motion within a fullerene cage, advancing ultrafast nanoscience techniques.

Findings

Detected two broad photocurrent peaks related to atom motion

Attributed peaks to bending and stretching of the encapsulated atom

Showed THz spectroscopy can sense single-atom dynamics

Abstract

Upon the discovery of the superatom states in endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs), the superatom properties have become attractive, because ultrafast motion of the trapped atom modifies the charge distribution in the fullerene cage. However, the observation of ultrafast atom motion in the fullerene cage is very challenging, since dynamical processes take place in the terahertz (THz) frequency range in a picometer region. Here, we report on the THz spectroscopy of single Ce@C82 EMF molecules by using the single molecule transistor geometry. Due to the vibron-assisted tunneling process, two broad photocurrent peaks are observed in the THz spectra and are ascribed to the bending and stretching motions of the encapsulated single Ce atom. This work demonstrates that THz spectroscopy using nanogap electrodes can detect a motion of a single atom, opening a door to ultrafast THz nanoscience on the picometer-scale.