Control of Dipolar Switches on Graphene by a Local Electric Field

The realization of molecular electronic devices relies on the ability to perform elementary operations with functional molecules. Molecular switches are established candidates to realize basic electronic functions and data storage. Macrocyclic molecules such as phthalocyanines and their derivatives provide a family of compounds that can be switched by external stimuli between two stable states. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigated tin phthalocyanine on graphene. We show that these molecules can be reversibly switched between two states and that the interaction of their electric dipole with a local electric field drives the switching yield and direction. The control at the single-molecule level of the molecular conformation in a bidimensional lattice is then used to achieve high-density data storage.