Negative differential resistance in "sulflower"-based molecular junction predicted by first-principles study.

The electronic transport behavior of a sulflower molecule sandwiched between metal leads by S atom connecting apex Au or Ag atoms was investigated using a first-principles study by current-voltage characteristics, transmission spectrum and local density of states. Negative differential resistance (NDR) effect which originates from Coulomb blockade driven by bias was obtained. We also found that the differential conductance can be modulated by the metal leads with different work functions, which promise the potential applications in molecular devices in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]