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Originally published in Science Express on 20 April 2006
Science 2 June 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5778, pp. 1362 - 1365
DOI: 10.1126/science.1124881
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Reports

Atomic-Scale Coupling of Photons to Single-Molecule Junctions

S. W. Wu,* N. Ogawa,* W. Ho{dagger}

Spatial resolution at the atomic scale has been achieved in the coupling of light to single molecules adsorbed on a surface. Electron transfer to a single molecule induced by green to near-infrared light in the junction of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) exhibited spatially varying probability that is confined within the molecule. The mechanism involves photo-induced resonant tunneling in which a photoexcited electron in the STM tip is transferred to the molecule. The coupling of photons to the tunneling process provides a pathway to explore molecular dynamics with the combined capabilities of lasers and the STM.

Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697–4575, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wilsonho{at}uci.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)