---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21986'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Over the past two decades, molecular electronics has made significant progress
    toward discovering nanoscale analogues of conventional electronic components,
    largely enabled by the development of the scanning tunneling microscope-based
    break-junction (STM-BJ) technique. The STM-BJ technique enables precise and highly
    reproducible measurement of a molecule’s electronic transport properties, making
    it a powerful technique to explore physiochemical and electrochemical phenomena
    that are otherwise difficult to access. It has gained substantial popularity in
    the past 20 years, with experiments becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated.
    Despite the wealth of literature, an accessible, practical guide to performing
    STM-BJ experiments and interpreting the data is largely absent. This tutorial
    includes a brief background into the development of STM-BJ measurements, followed
    by detailed explanations of instrumentation, data collection, statistical analysis,
    variations on standard experiments, and some troubleshooting methods. It is aimed
    at researchers looking to begin or improve STM-BJ studies in their laboratories,
    graduate students and postdoctoral researchers learning the technique, and readers
    seeking to critically evaluate the growing body of STM-BJ literature.
acknowledgement: We thank Michael Inkpen, Timothy Su, Masha Kamenetska, and Wanzhuo
  Shi for comments and Jyotisman Hazarika for data collection. This work was supported
  in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF-DMR 2241180) and by the Institute
  of Science and Technology Austria.
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Emma
  full_name: York, Emma
  id: 08dde91e-8e0a-11f0-9d7d-9e8d80864f16
  last_name: York
- first_name: Latha
  full_name: Venkataraman, Latha
  id: 9ebb78a5-cc0d-11ee-8322-fae086a32caf
  last_name: Venkataraman
  orcid: 0000-0002-6957-6089
chemrxivid: 1
citation:
  ama: York E, Venkataraman L. Scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction
    technique - A tutorial. <i>ACS Physical Chemistry Au</i>. 2026;6(3):408-424. doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026">10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026</a>
  apa: York, E., &#38; Venkataraman, L. (2026). Scanning tunneling microscope-based
    break-junction technique - A tutorial. <i>ACS Physical Chemistry Au</i>. American
    Chemical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026">https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026</a>
  chicago: York, Emma, and Latha Venkataraman. “Scanning Tunneling Microscope-Based
    Break-Junction Technique - A Tutorial.” <i>ACS Physical Chemistry Au</i>. American
    Chemical Society, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026">https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026</a>.
  ieee: E. York and L. Venkataraman, “Scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction
    technique - A tutorial,” <i>ACS Physical Chemistry Au</i>, vol. 6, no. 3. American
    Chemical Society, pp. 408–424, 2026.
  ista: York E, Venkataraman L. 2026. Scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction
    technique - A tutorial. ACS Physical Chemistry Au. 6(3), 408–424.
  mla: York, Emma, and Latha Venkataraman. “Scanning Tunneling Microscope-Based Break-Junction
    Technique - A Tutorial.” <i>ACS Physical Chemistry Au</i>, vol. 6, no. 3, American
    Chemical Society, 2026, pp. 408–24, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026">10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026</a>.
  short: E. York, L. Venkataraman, ACS Physical Chemistry Au 6 (2026) 408–424.
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-06-10T07:38:41Z
date_published: 2026-05-04T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-22T06:19:21Z
day: '04'
ddc:
- '540'
department:
- _id: LaVe
doi: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.6c00026
external_id:
  chemrxivid:
  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15000474/v1
  pmid:
  - '42221941'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 1dc16bdfb1c1cd3acde802f4350cb42a
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-06-19T06:31:16Z
  date_updated: 2026-06-19T06:31:16Z
  file_id: '22020'
  file_name: 2026_ACSPhysChem_York.pdf
  file_size: 11251172
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file_date_updated: 2026-06-19T06:31:16Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '         6'
issue: '3'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 408-424
pmid: 1
publication: ACS Physical Chemistry Au
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2694-2445
publication_status: published
publisher: American Chemical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique - A tutorial
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 6
year: '2026'
...