Laser-assisted conductance of molecular wires

An explicit expression is worked out for the conductance of a system consisting of a molecular wire, described within a homogeneous tight-binding model, bridging two electrodes illuminated by a weak laser, in the limit of linear radiative response, zero temperature and low bias voltage. Frequency tuning leads to valuable spectroscopic information on the system. More interesting is the prediction of an enhancement of the total current by several orders of magnitude, opening the possibility of nanoscale switch design.