Electrochemical fabrication and characterization of nanocontacts and nm-sized gaps

Mészáros, Gábor; Kronholz, Stephan; Karthäuser, Silvia; Mayer, Dirk; Wandlowski, Thomas

doi:10.1007/s00339-007-3903-2

Cited by 39 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…A dedicated four-electrode bipotentiostat was developed for controlling the electrochemical fabrication process and for monitoring the electrical characteristics [3,5,6]. We could achieve Cu and Au nanocontacts and stable molecular-sized gaps, which exhibit characteristic quantized tunneling currents.…”

Section: +mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of source and drain may be represented by the tip of an STM combined with an appropriate substrate [1,2] or a pair of planar nanoelectrodes. [3]. Working in an electrochemical environment has the advantage that two potential differences can be tuned individually, the bias voltage between the two working electrodes WE 1 and WE 2, and the potential drop between one working electrode and the reference electrode RE (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Charge Transport with Single Molecules – An Electrochemical Approach

Mishchenko²,

Pobelov³

et al. 2010

Chimia

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After an introduction and brief review of charge transport in nanoscale molecular systems we report on experimental studies in gold | (single) molecule | gold junctions at solid | liquid interfaces employing a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)-based 'break junction' technique. We demonstrate attempts in developing basic relationships between molecular structure, conductance properties and nanoscale electrochemical concepts based on four case studies from our own work. In experiments with ?, ?-alkanedithiol and biphenyldithiol molecular junctions we address the role of sulfur-gold couplings and molecular conformation, such as gauche defects in the alkyl chains and the torsion angle between two phenyl rings. Combination with quantum chemistry calculations enabled a detailed molecular-level understanding of the electronic structure and transport characteristics of both systems. Employing the concept of 'electrolyte gating' with redox-active molecules, such as thiol-terminated derivatives of viologens (HS-6V6-SH or (HS-6V6)) we demonstrate the construction of symmetric and asymmetric active molecular junctions with transistor- or diode-like behavior upon polarization in an electrochemical environment. The experimental data could be represented quantitatively by the Kutznetsov/Ulstrup model assuming a two-step electron transfer with partial vibration relaxation. Finally, we show that surface-immobilized gold nanoparticles with a diameter of (2.4 ± 0.5) nm exhibit features of locally addressable multi-state electronic switching upon electrolyte gating, which appears to be reminiscent of a sequential charging through several 'oxidation/reduction states'.

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Section: +mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charge Transport with Single Molecules – An Electrochemical Approach

Mishchenko²,

Pobelov³

et al. 2010

Chimia

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“…During the last few decades, several research groups have successfully managed to trap a single molecule between two electrical contacts. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The most popular technique to contact a single molecule is the quantum mechanical break junction technique, where a nanoscopic junction is realized by controllably opening and closing a narrow metallic constriction. 8,9,[21][22][23] As an alternative, molecules are captured between a substrate and the apex of the tip of a scanning tunneling or atomic force microscope.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Update: Molecular electronics: The single-molecule switch and transistor

et al. 2014

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In order to design and realize single-molecule devices it is essential to have a good understanding of the properties of an individual molecule. For electronic applications, the most important property of a molecule is its conductance. Here we show how a single octanethiol molecule can be connected to macroscopic leads and how the transport properties of the molecule can be measured. Based on this knowledge we have realized two single-molecule devices: a molecular switch and a molecular transistor. The switch can be opened and closed at will by carefully adjusting the separation between the electrical contacts and the voltage drop across the contacts. This single-molecular switch operates in a broad temperature range from cryogenic temperatures all the way up to room temperature. Via mechanical gating, i.e., compressing or stretching of the octanethiol molecule, by varying the contact's interspace, we are able to systematically adjust the conductance of the electrode-octanethiol-electrode junction. This two-terminal single-molecule transistor is very robust, but the amplification factor is rather limited.

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“…The currently most commonly used methods involve stretching a glass capillary containing a Pt wire of micrometer diameter, until a desired outer diameter is reached for the glass [6][7][8][9], or etching a wire down to an ultrafine tip and coating all but the apex of the metal with an insulating polymer [10,11]. Lithographical fabrication was introduced by preparing interdigitated arrays of electrodes [12,13] and allows the design of individual nanoelectrodes patterned on top of a silicon oxide surface [13][14][15]. While the microelectrodes based on sealed wires are being produced with very small surface areas, there is no accurate, in situ control over the actual electrode surface area during manufacture and it has to be determined after fabrication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%