Current experimental efforts are clarifying quite beautifully the nature of charge transport in so-called molecular junctions, in which a single molecule provides the channel for current flow between two electrodes. The theoretical modeling of such structures is challenging, because of the uncertainty of geometry, the nonequilibrium nature of the process, and the variety of available mechanisms. The talk will center on the first formulation of the problem in terms of scattering theory, and then on the generalizations needed to make that simple picture relevant to the real experimental situation. These include vibronic coupling, structural disorder and energy transfer. Some comments will be made on possible switching and rectification schemes.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Mark A. Ratner; Abraham Nitzan; Misha Galperin (2006), "Molecular Transport Structures: Elastic Scattering, Vibronic Effects and Beyond," https://nanohub.org/resources/1018.

1. algorithms
2. circuits
3. devices
4. general tools
5. material science
6. molecular electronics
7. multiscale models
8. nano electro-mechanical systems
9. nanoelectronics
10. nanotransistors
11. NEGF
12. quantum dots
13. research seminar
14. thermal transport