Atomically Reconfigurable Single-Molecule Optoelectronics

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates atomic-scale control of a molecule's optical properties using scanning tunnelling microscopy, enabling tunable emission and excitonic interactions in single-molecule optoelectronic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a method to actively tune transition dipoles and excitonic interactions in single molecules through atomic displacement, a novel approach in molecular optoelectronics.

Findings

Controlled emission via vertical displacement of metal atom in molecule

Realization of a three-state optical switch in a homodimer

Demonstration of on/off resonant energy transfer in heterodimers

Abstract

Deterministic control of excitonic properties is key to advancing nanoscale optoelectronic and quantum technologies and to understanding diverse physical, optical, chemical, and biological phenomena. At the molecular scale, these properties can be tuned through chemical modification, local-environment influence or charge-state manipulation. Yet, direct control of a molecule's transition dipole moment and its resulting light emission via atomic-scale structural modification has remained elusive. Here, using scanning tunnelling microscopy-induced luminescence, we show that a single structural parameter-the vertical displacement of the central metal atom in a planar phthalocyanine molecule on a decoupling layer-enables active tuning of the transition dipole, allowing either suppression or enhancement of emission. Exploiting this control, we realized a tunable homodimer switchable among three optical states: non-emissive, single-molecule-like emissive, and coupled states exhibiting subradiant and superradiant modes, directly revealing intermolecular dipole-dipole coupling. We further demonstrate a heterodimer in which resonant energy transfer can be turned on or off simply by controlling the acceptor's transition dipole moment. These findings not only establish atomic-scale displacement as a general strategy for optical molecular switching, but also demonstrate the reconfigurable engineering of excitonic interactions within molecular assemblies.