Charge transfer through molecular junctions with superconducting electrodes

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Joachim Ankerhold
• Subject Area: Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2006 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 24961188

Charge transfer across molecular junctions goes beyond usual solid state physics as well as usual quantum chemistry due to correlations between bulk properties of the electrodes and single molecular orbitals. For a thorough understanding environmental degrees of freedom of the circuitry and of the molecular complex must be also taken into account. While there have been quite a number of experimental realizations, mainly at room temperature, theoretical descriptions often allow only for qualitative comparisons due to the lack of a deeper insight into the relevant microscopic dynamics. This has triggered new experimental set-ups, where two very promising candidates exploit the spin effects and the influence of superconducting electrodes, respectively. Here, we plan to address some key questions related to recent experiments with SMS (superconducting¿molecule¿superconducting) junctions, namely, the role of multiple Andreev reflections in presence of a vibronic background, signatures of the molecular energy levels in the subgap structure of differential conductance measurements, the impact of intramolecular spin interactions, and driving induced phenomena.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1243: Quantum Transport at the Molecular Scale