Molecular Electronic Junctions

A review with 228 references on experimental investigation of conductor/molecule/metal molecular electronic junctions is presented. Devices based on covalent and Langmuir-Blodgett bonding of single molecules or molecular monolayers to conducting substrates are reviewed, as characterized by scanning probe microscopy and microelectronic techniques. Phenomena observed to date include molecular rectification, conductance switching, and nonlinear current/voltage behavior. Prospects and problems for the application of molecular junctions to the more general area of molecular electronics are discussed.