Ultrafast on-demand exciton formation in a single-molecule junction by tailored terahertz pulses

• DOI: 10.1126/science.ads2776
• Publication Date: 2025-03-06T18:58:41Z
• Authors: Kensuke Kimura; Ryo Tamaki; Minhui Lee; Xingmei Ouyang; Satoshi Kusaba; Rafael B. Jaculbia; Yoichi Kawada; Jaehoon Jung; Atsuya Muranaka; Hiroshi Imada; Ikufumi Katayama; Jun Takeda; Yousoo Kim

The ultrafast manipulation of molecular states by charge transfer is essential for characterizing and controlling dynamics. In this study, we demonstrated exciton formation in a single molecule through electron tunneling processes between metal tip scanning microscope (STM) using phase-controlled terahertz (THz) pulse. pronounced luminescence the well-defined system under distinct carrier-envelope phase THz pulse revealed that sequential state-selective electron-tunneling to frontier orbitals promoted at STM junction. Furthermore, control was achieved phase- delay-controlled pairs, providing route regulation dynamics emergence new functions.