Electrostatic potential profile and nonlinear current in an interacting one-dimensional molecular wire

Abstract

We consider an interacting one-dimensional molecular wire attached to two metal electrodes on either side of it. The electrostatic potential profile across the wire-electrode interface has been deduced solving the Schrodinger and Poisson equations self-consistently. Since the Poisson distribution crucially depends on charge densities, we have considered different Hamiltonian parameters to model the nano-scale wire. We find that for very weak electron correlations, the potential gradient is almost zero in the middle of the wire but are large near the chain ends. However, for strong correlations, the potential is essentially a ramp function. The nonlinear current, obtained from the scattering formalism, is found to be less with the ramp potential than for weak correlations. Some of the interesting features in current-voltage characteristics have been explained using one-electron formalism and instabilities in the system.