Fabrication and characterization of sub-3 nm gaps for single-cluster and single-molecule experiments
- 13 May 2003
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Nanotechnology
- Vol. 14 (7), 772-777
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/14/7/313
Abstract
We describe a simple process for preparing sub-3 nm gaps by means of controllable breaking of gold wires lithographed on a SiO2/Si substrate at low temperature (4.2 K). We show that the mechanism involved is thermally assisted electromigration. We investigate the effect of the high electric field developed at the final stage of the breaking of the nanowire and observe that the current–voltage characteristics (I–V) of the resulting electrodes are stable up to ~5 V. This high-electric-field stability gives access to the well-known Fowler–Nordheim regime (eV > Φ0) in the I–V characteristic, thus allowing an accurate characterization of the gap size. The size of the gap is found to be between 1 and 2 nm. We validate this characterization by fabricating single-electron tunnelling devices based on alkylthiol capped gold nanoparticles.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Simple fabrication scheme for sub-10 nm electrode gaps using electron-beam lithographyApplied Physics Letters, 2002
- Quantized tunneling current in the metallic nanogaps formed by electrodeposition and etchingApplied Physics Letters, 2000
- Acceleration of quantum decay processes by frequent observationsNature, 2000
- Analysis of failure mechanisms in electrically stressed Au nanowiresJournal of Applied Physics, 1999
- Fabrication of metallic electrodes with nanometer separation by electromigrationApplied Physics Letters, 1999
- Electron transport through a metal-molecule-metal junctionPhysical Review B, 1999
- Controlled fabrication of metallic electrodes with atomic separationApplied Physics Letters, 1999
- Conductance of a Molecular JunctionScience, 1997
- An approach to electrical studies of single nanocrystalsApplied Physics Letters, 1996
- Adjustable nanofabricated atomic size contactsReview of Scientific Instruments, 1996