Course syllabus

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MCC075 Molecular electronics (7.5 credits) study period 1, fall 2020 ( lp1 HT20)

Course is offered by the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience - MC2

This year the course will be taught online using Zoom at the date and time advertised in TimeEdit. In general we have class Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday all at 10am. The Zoom rooms of teachers are found below under contact details.

By joint decision we move all Wednesday slots from starting at 8am to instead start at 10am.

Homework molecular orbitals: there were some problems with a broken link for gOpenMol. I found this link.

There is also the possibility to use a program called Avogadro (https://avogadro.cc) instead of both chemsketch and gOpenMol. There is an instruction video on Youtube that might be helpful: link

Molecular orbitals homework:

  • instructions here and in the compendium that is in the Files folder under the link to the left 
  • choose one molecule by sending an email to tomas.lofwander@chalmers.se
  • deadline for hand-in: Friday September 25

Examples of old exams are now available under Files.

Note: TL will arrange an extra questions session Wednesday Oct. 28 at 10:00 in Zoom.

 

Information about the exam Friday Oct 30 at 8:30-12:30:

General information from Chalmers centrally: link

The exam questions will be of similar type as earlier years, see the example exams under Files.

We will get a Zoom link where students should be logged in 45 minutes in advance (7:45am) for ID check and placement in private breakout room. Key practical points:

  • Zoom room will become available here: link
  • The actual exam pdf will be made available as an Assignment under this Canvas page: click Assignments to the left.
  • In the assignment there will be link to a pdf-file that has been uploaded to Box, which you login to using your CID.
  • Write your solutions by hand on paper.
  • At the end you get 30 minutes extra time to scan your solutions and upload as an answer to the Assignment here in Canvas.

Good luck!

 

Contact details

Teachers and links to Zoom rooms:

Course Aim

The objective of the course is to give an exposure to the emerging field of molecular electronics with single molecules. The aim is to give an introduction into experimental techniques and theoretical concepts for electron transport through single molecule devices, and familiarize the students with the basic concepts for describing and simulating the physical properties of such systems.

Schedule

TimeEdit

The schedule with details about lectures is here: link

Course literature

We use material from these two books:

1. Molecular Electronics: An Introduction To Theory And Experiment (World Scientific Series in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology), Juan Carlos Cuevas and Elke Scheer, World Scientific Publishing, ISBN-10: 9814282588, ISBN-13: 978-9814282581

It is available as electronic book through Chalmers library:

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/chalmers/detail.action?docID=731204 (Links to an external site.)

2. Handbook of Single-Molecule Electronics, Edited by Kasper Moth-Poulsen, Pan Stanford 2015, Print ISBN: 978-981-4463-38-6, eBook ISBN: 978-981-4463-39-3

It is available online through the Chalmers library:

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429069383 (Links to an external site.)

Note: if you are sitting off-campus you need to sign in using VPN to get full access to the library resources.

Course design

The course will contain lectures on the prospects for single-molecule electronics, methods for contacting molecules and measuring current transport through them, and basic theory of current transport through single molecules with focus on the sequential tunneling regime and the quantum coherent regime. The lectures will be supplemented with problem solving classes and two computational exercises.

Changes made since the last occasion

The change is that the course is taught online.

Learning outcomes

Following the course, you should be able to:

  • describe the basic regimes of charge transport through single molecule devices, such as Coulomb blockade, quantum coherent transport, and Kondo effect
  • explain the role of coupling between molecules and electrodes
  • model orbitals of simple molecules, using analytical methods and numerical methods based on available computational packages
  • describe the influence of internal degrees of freedom in molecular charge transport, such as electromechanical effects, vibrational effects, and molecular switching mechanisms
  • model current transport in the sequential tunneling regime and explain how it is affected by molecular properties
  • model current transport in the quantum coherent transport regime and explain how it is affected by molecular properties
  • describe available experimental techniques and concepts for studies of current transport though single molecule devices
  • describe chemical motifs for molecular switches, rectifiers, and transistors
  • describe chemical concepts for self-assembly of molecular devices.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen. (Links to an external site.)

Examination form

  • Homework (hand-in): molecular orbitals computational project; pass/fail grade
  • Homework (hand-in + oral presentation): Coulomb blockade project; max 5 bonus points on exam
  • Seminar where students presents a scientific article from the literature on experimental methods and concepts in molecular electronics; pass/fail grade
  • Written exam

Course summary:

Date Details Due