Phase-coherent charge transport through a Porphyrin nanoribbon

When electronic devices are shrunk to the molecular scale, it is unclear under what conditions electron flow can be treated as wave-like phase-coherent transmission.  

In this study ('Phase coherent charge transport through a Polyphyrin nanoribbon', published in Journal of the American Chemical Society), the authors demonstrate that electron transport remains phase-coherent through molecular porphyrin nanoribbons, 8nm in length, connected to graphene electrodes through van der Waals interactions.  

The authors show that the devices act as graphene Fabry-Perot interferometers, demonstrating a potential platform for the use of electronic interferometric effects in single-molecule junctions, and opening up avenues for studying quantum coherence in molecular electronic devices.  

This work is the result of continued collaboration between Oxford Materials, the Anderson Group in Oxford Chemistry and the Department of Physics in Lancaster.