Current induced light emission and light induced current in molecular tunneling junctions

摘要

The interaction of metal-molecule-metal junctions with light is consideredwithin a simple generic model. We show, for the first time, that light inducedcurrent in unbiased junctions can take place when the bridging molecule ischaracterized by a strong charge-transfer transition. The same model showscurrent induced light emission under potential bias that exceeds the molecularexcitation energy. Results based on realistic estimates of molecular-leadcoupling and molecule-radiation field interaction suggest that both effectsshould be observable.