Vibrationally mediated transport in molecular transistors

We investigate the steady-state electronic transport through a suspended dimer molecule coupled to leads. When strongly coupled to a vibrational mode, the electron transport is enhanced at the phonon resonant frequency and higher order resonances. The temperature and bias determine the nature of the phonon-assisted resonances, with clear absorption and emission peaks. The strong coupling also induces a Frank-Condon-like blockade, suppressing the current between the resonances. We compare an analytical polaron transformation method to two exact numerical methods: the Hierarchy equations of motion and an exact diagonalization in the Fock basis. In the steady state, our two numerical results are an exact match and qualitatively reflect the main features of the polaron treatment. Our results indicate the possibility of a new type of molecular transistor or sensor where the current can be extremely sensitive to small changes in the energies of the electronic states in the dimer. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.87.075422