Temperature-Dependent Electronic Transport through Alkyl Chain Monolayers: Evidence for a Molecular Signature

Temperature-dependent transport measurements through alkyl chain monolayers that are directly chemically bound to Si, show that the currents decrease as the temperature increases. We relate this temperature dependence primarily to a gradual un-tilting of the adsorbed molecules, which leads to increasing of the film thickness, resulting in a wider tunnel barrier. Following that, we conclude that a significant part of transport through these alkyl chain monolayers occurs “through space”. The experimental finding and its interpretation result from the high reproducibility and accuracy of the transport results for the semiconductor/alkyl chain/ metal junctions that we study.