Incoherent charge transport through molecular wires: interplay of Coulomb interaction and wire population

Abstract

The influence of Coulomb interaction on the electron transport through molecular wires is studied in the regime of incoherent tunneling. In the limit of strong Coulomb repulsion, the current for spinless electrons is determined. It is shown that the voltage profile along the wire crucially influences the dependence of the current on the wire length. Upon inclusion of the spin degree of freedom one finds a blocking effect which depends both on the interaction strength and on the population of the wire. For finite Coulomb interaction, the temperature dependence of the blocking is studied and it is shown that several regimes with different blocking strength may exist.