Basic Theory of Electron Transport Through Molecular Contacts

Book chapter, 2016

In this chapter, we will introduce a basic theoretical description of coherent electron transport through low-dimensional junctions and molecular devices. The description introduced is based on quantum transport theory using a tight-binding description of molecules and lead materials. We apply this theory in a few worked examples on junctions based on graphene and carbon nanotubes and on molecular-superconducting hybrid junctions.