Research

Low Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (LT-STM) allows precise sub-molecular imaging of a single molecule as well as its manipulation in clean and controlled conditions. LT-STM experiments on individual molecules permit a deeper insight into the quantum electronics of molecular systems and provide important information on the conformational and mechanical properties of single complex molecules.The central part of our work is related to the manipulation of individual molecules as a tool to investigate electronic and mechanical properties of single molecules deposited on metal and semiconducting surfaces. We plan to study the electronic contact between a molecule and a nanoelectrode at the atomic scale and to perform transport measurements through a single molecule in both vertical and planar configuration. Manipulation will also be used to investigate conformational changes in molecules and to understand the relation between electronic transport inside a molecule and molecular conformation.