Fig. 1: Intrinsic molecular design and electron transport of the Dy@C84 single-molecule transistor (SMT).
a Schematic of a three-terminal Dy@C84 SMT and the Dy@C84 molecule. A Dy@C84 molecule falls into the nanogap of ~1 nm created by a feedback-controlled electromigration break junction (FCEBJ) process and forms a Dy@C84 SMT. b Typical source-drain current vs. source-drain voltage (Isd-Vsd) traces of the FCEBJ process. c Representative Isd(Vsd) characteristic curves at different gate voltages (Vg) after electromigration exhibiting Coulomb blockade in the low bias region (within Vsd ~ 20 mV) (T = 1.8 K; all transport measurements were performed at this cryogenic temperature). d The source-drain current Isd recorded with respect to Vg with a fixed Vsd of 5 mV when we sweep Vg back and forth within the range of ±10 V. The curves have been offset vertically for clarity. Two sets of Coulomb oscillations emerge, and we focus on the resonant tunneling points marked by the red and blue arrows.
