Development of a nanowire-based test bed device for molecular electronics applications

Gardner, C.E., Ghanem, M.A., Wilson, J.W. and Smith, D.C. (2006) Development of a nanowire-based test bed device for molecular electronics applications. Analytical Chemistry, 78 (3), 951-955. (doi:10.1021/ac051106l).

Abstract

In this paper, we present a novel test bed system which we believe addresses several key challenges in molecular electronics, i.e., the need to fabricate metal-molecule-metal junctions that have the potential to facilitate single-molecule measurements, are easily characterized, and are reproducible. The system is based upon template-electrodeposited metal nanowires incorporating a self-assembled monolayer spacer that are fabricated into electrical devices using direct-write photolithography. Removal of the spacer leaves a nanometer-sized, characterizable gap to which nanoparticles or a test molecule of interest can be attached postfabrication. Here we report the fabrication procedure together with results showing the application of these devices to the study of the i/V characteristics of Au nanoparticles at cryogenic temperatures. These data demonstrate that the performance of these easily produced, inexpensive, novel devices compares favorably to that of devices made using preexisting methods.

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