Inelastic conductance through molecular-scale electronics may give rise to a rich variety of dynamical processes, including vibration, rotation, intermode energy flow, desorption, and reaction. Current-driven dynamics in nanojunctions carries a broad range of already tested and projected applications. These include new approaches to spectroscopy, new forms of molecular machines, new means of manipulating the conductivity of molecular junctions, new approaches to surface nanochemistry and new directions in nanolithography. It also offers several fascinating questions for fundamental research. These include the understanding and control of strongly nonadiabatic vibronic dynamics under nonequilibrium conditions; the modeling of heat transport, dissipation and rectification; and, the design of molecular machines with desired functionalities. Consisting of ten chapters written by some of the world's leaders in the field, this book combines experimental, theoretical and numerical studies of current-driven phenomena in the nanoscale. The topics covered range from single-molecule, site-specific nanochemistry induced by a scanning tunneling microscope, through inelastic tunneling spectroscopy and current-induced heating, to current-triggered molecular machines. The various chapters focus on experimental and numerical method development, the description of specific systems, and new ideas and novel phenomena.

Table of Contents

Theory of Nonequilibrium Electron-Phonon Scattering in Nanoelectronics (H Guo); The Electronic Structure of Metal--Molecule Interfaces (H Petek); Inelastic Tunneling Current-Driven Motions of Single Adsorbates (Ueba); Current-Driven Desorption at the Organic Molecule--Semiconductor Interface: Cyclopentene on Si(100) (Hersam); Current-Induced Local Heating in Molecular Junctions (N Tao); DFT-NEGF Approach to Current-Induced Forces, Vibrational Signals, and Heating in Nanoconductors (M Brandbyge); Current-Induced Heating and Heat Dissipation Mechanisms in Single C60 (Pascual); Light-Induced Switching of Conductance in Molecular Systems (B Feringa); Electronic Control of Single-Molecule Nanomachines (Dujardine).

About the Author

Tamar Seideman is a professor of physics and chemistry at the Northwestern University. The Seideman group is engaged with theoretical and computational research at the broad interface between chemistry, physics and materials science.

Reviews

"Tamar Seideman has been a pioneer in the area of quantum transport and current-driven dynamics for over a decade. Her imaginative concepts and fundamental theoretical developments have stimulated several beautiful laboratory experiments. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in nanoelectronics." --Prof. Joern Manz, Free University Berlin, Germany "The editor of the volume has a distinguished research record in the field and has brought together experts from North America, Europe and Japan to produce an informative collection of experimental and theoretical studies of current driven phenomena in molecular nano-junctions. ... readers of this book will profit from the expertise of the contributors and thence will be stimulated to add further to this fascinating field." --K. Alan Shore, Bangor University