The Quantum Interference Effect Transistor

Abstract

We propose a new type of molecular transistor, the Quantum Interference Effect Transistor (QuIET), based on tunable current suppression due to quantum interference. We show that any aromatic hydrocarbon ring has two-lead configurations for which current at small voltages is suppressed by destructive interference. A transistor can be created by providing phase relaxation or decoherence at a site on the ring. We propose several molecules which could tunably introduce the necessary dephasing or decoherence, as well as a proof of principle using a scanning tunneling microscope tip. Within the self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation, the QuIET is shown to have characteristics strikingly similar to those of conventional field effect and bipolar junction transistors.