We analyze various limits of vibrationally coupled resonant electron transport in single-molecule junctions. Based on a master equation approach, we discuss analytic and numerical results for junctions under a high bias voltage or weak electronic-vibrational coupling. It is shown that in these limits, the vibrational excitation of the molecular bridge increases indefinitely, i.e., the junction exhibits a vibrational instability. Moreover, our analysis provides analytic results for the vibrational distribution function and reveals that these vibrational instabilities are related to electron-hole pair creation processes.

• Received 17 December 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.125419