arXiv subjects

K. S. Thygesen

Publications and source records attributed to K. S. Thygesen.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Inelastic Scattering in Metal-H2-Metal Junctions

We present first-principles calculations of the dI/dV characteristics of an H2 molecule sandwiched between Au and Pt electrodes in the presence of electron-phonon interactions. The conductance is found to decrease by a few percentage at threshold voltages corresponding to the excitation energy of longitudinal vibrations of the H2 molecule. In the case of Pt electrodes, the transverse vibrations can mediate transport through otherwise non-transmitting Pt $d$-channels leading to an increase in the differential conductance even though the hydrogen junction is characterized predominately by a single almost fully open transport channel. In the case of Au, the transverse modes do not affect the dI/dV because the Au d-states are too far below the Fermi level. A simple explanation of the first-principles results is given using scattering theory. Finally, we compare and discuss our results in relation to experimental data.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Influence of Functional Groups on Charge Transport in Molecular Junctions

Using density functional theory (DFT), we analyze the influence of five classes of functional groups, as exemplified by NO2, OCH3, CH3, CCl3, and I, on the transport properties of a 1,4-benzenedithiolate (BDT) and 1,4-benzenediamine (BDA) molecular junction with gold electrodes. Our analysis demonstrates how ideas from functional group chemistry may be used to engineer a molecule's transport properties, as was shown experimentally and using a semiempirical model for BDA [Nano Lett. 7, 502 (2007)]. In particular, we show that the qualitative change in conductance due to a given functional group can be predicted from its known electronic effect (whether it is pi/sigma donating/withdrawing). However, the influence of functional groups on a molecule's conductance is very weak, as was also found in the BDA experiments. The calculated DFT conductances for the BDA species are five times larger than the experimental values, but good agreement is obtained after correcting for self-interaction and image charge effects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Benchmark density functional theory calculations for nano-scale conductance

We present a set of benchmark calculations for the Kohn-Sham elastic transmission function of five representative single-molecule junctions. The transmission functions are calculated using two different density functional theory (DFT) methods, namely an ultrasoft pseudopotential plane wave code in combination with maximally localized Wannier functions, and the norm-conserving pseudopotential code Siesta which applies an atomic orbital basis set. For all systems we find that the Siesta transmission functions converge toward the plane-wave result as the Siesta basis is enlarged. Overall, we find that an atomic basis with double-zeta and polarization is sufficient (and in some cases even necessary) to ensure quantitative agreement with the plane-wave calculation. We observe a systematic down shift of the Siesta transmission functions relative to the plane-wave results. The effect diminishes as the atomic orbital basis is enlarged, however, the convergence can be rather slow.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Electron transport in a Pt-CO-Pt nanocontact: First-principles calculations

We have performed first-principles calculations for the mechanic and electric properties of pure Pt nano-contacts and a Pt contact with a single CO molecule adsorbed. For the pure Pt contacts we see a clear difference between point contacts and short chains in good agreement with experiments. We identify a tilted bridge configuration for the Pt-CO-Pt contact, which is stable and has a conductance close to $0.5G_0$ ($G_0=2e^2/h$), and we propose that this structure is responsible for an observed peak at $0.5G_0$ in the conductance histogram for Pt exposed to a CO gas. We explain the main features of the transmission function for the Pt-CO-Pt contact, and show that the conductance is largely determined by the local $d$-band at the Pt apex atoms.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Forces and conductances in a single-molecule bipyridine junction

Inspired by recent measurements of forces and conductances of bipyridine nano-junctions, we have performed density functional theory calculations of structure and electron transport in a bipyridine molecule attached between gold electrodes for seven different contact geometries. The calculations show that both the bonding force and the conductance are sensitive to the surface structure, and that both properties are in good agreement with experiment for contact geometries characterized by intermediate coordination of the metal atoms corresponding to a stepped surface. The conductance is mediated by the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, which can be illustrated by a quantitative comparison with a one-level model. Implications for the interpretation of the experimentally determined force and conductance distributions are discussed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Interference and k-point sampling in the supercell approach to phase-coherent transport

We present a systematic study of interference and k-point sampling effects in the supercell approach to phase-coherent electron transport. We use a representative tight-binding model to show that interference between the repeated images is a small effect compared to the error introduced by using only the Gamma-point for a supercell containing (3,3) sites in the transverse plane. An insufficient k-point sampling can introduce strong but unphysical features in the transmission function which can be traced to the presence of van Hove singularities in the lead. We present a first-principles calculation of the transmission through a Pt contact which shows that the k-point sampling is also important for realistic systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Partly occupied Wannier functions: Construction and applications

We have developed a practical scheme to construct partly occupied, maximally localized Wannier functions (WFs) for a wide range of systems. We explain and demonstrate how the inclusion of selected unoccupied states in the definition of the WFs can improve both their localization and symmetry properties. A systematic selection of the relevant unoccupied states is achieved by minimizing the spread of the resulting WFs. The method is applied to a silicon cluster, a copper crystal, and a Cu(100) surface with nitrogen adsorbed. In all cases we demonstrate the existence of a set of WFs with particularly good localization and symmetry properties, and we show that this set of WFs is characterized by a maximal average localization.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Stretching dependence of the vibration modes of a single-molecule Pt-H2-Pt bridge

A conducting bridge of a single hydrogen molecule between Pt electrodes is formed in a break junction experiment. It has a conductance near the quantum unit, G_0 = 2e^2/h, carried by a single channel. Using point contact spectroscopy three vibration modes are observed and their variation upon stretching and isotope substitution is obtained. The interpretation of the experiment in terms of a Pt-H_2-Pt bridge is verified by Density Functional Theory calculations for the stability, vibrational modes, and conductance of the structure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Molecular transport calculations with Wannier functions

We present a scheme for calculating coherent electron transport in atomic-scale contacts. The method combines a formally exact Green's function formalism with a mean-field description of the electronic structure based on the Kohn-Sham scheme of density functional theory. We use an accurate plane-wave electronic structure method to calculate the eigenstates which are subsequently transformed into a set of localized Wannier functions (WFs). The WFs provide a highly efficient basis set which at the same time is well suited for analysis due to the chemical information contained in the WFs. The method is applied to a hydrogen molecule in an infinite Pt wire and a benzene-dithiol (BDT) molecule between Au(111) surfaces. We show that the transmission function of BDT in a wide energy window around the Fermi level can be completely accounted for by only two molecular orbitals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Partly Occupied Wannier Functions

We introduce a scheme for constructing partly occupied, maximally localized Wannier functions (WFs) for both molecular and periodic systems. Compared to the traditional occupied WFs the partly occupied WFs posses improved symmetry and localization properties achieved through a bonding-antibonding closing procedure. We demonstrate the equivalence between bonding-antibonding closure and the minimization of the average spread of the WFs in the case of a benzene molecule and a linear chain of Pt atoms. The general applicability of the method is demonstrated through the calculation of WFs for a metallic system with an impurity: a Pt wire with a hydrogen molecular bridge.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Conduction Mechanism in a Molecular Hydrogen Contact

We present first principles calculations for the conductance of a hydrogen molecule bridging a pair of Pt electrodes. The transmission function has a wide plateau with T~1 which extends across the Fermi level and indicates the existence of a single, robust conductance channel with nearly perfect transmission. Through a detailed Wannier function analysis we show that the H2 bonding state is not involved in the transport and that the plateau forms due to strong hybridization between the H2 anti-bonding state and states on the adjacent Pt atoms. The Wannier functions furthermore allow us to derive a resonant-level model for the system with all parameters determined from the fully self-consistent Kohn-Sham Hamiltonian.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Four-atom period in the conductance of monatomic Al wires

We present first principles calculations based on density functional theory for the conductance of monatomic Al wires between Al(111) electrodes. In contrast to the even-odd oscillations observed in other metallic wires, the conductance of the Al wires is found to oscillate with a period of 4 atoms as the length of the wire is varied. Although local charge neutrality can account for the observed period it leads to an incorrect phase. We explain the conductance behavior using a resonant transport model based on the electronic structure of the infinite wire.

cond-mat↗