Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 46 (2007) pp. 1731-1733  |Previous Article| |Next Article|  |Table of Contents|
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Effect of UV/Ozone Treatment on Nanogap Electrodes for Molecular Devices

Touichiro Goto, Hiroshi Inokawa¹, Masao Nagase, Yukinori Ono, Koji Sumitomo, and Keiichi Torimitsu

(Received December 5, 2006; accepted January 12, 2007; published online April 5, 2007)

We report the effect of UV/ozone treatment on nanogap electrodes for molecular devices. Gold nanogap electrodes with a nominal gap of 1–2 nm were fabricated by double oblique deposition and the break-junction technique. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4,4'-p-terphenyldithiol (TPDT) were formed on the surfaces of the nanogap electrodes, and the electronic properties of these electrodes were measured. The device characteristics were also measured after repeated UV/ozone treatment and SAM re-formation. Although the resistance of the nanogap electrodes increased with the number of UV/ozone treatments, they could subsequently be used for molecular devices. We also observed Coulomb-diamond (CD) structures in the conductance contour plot with respect to the drain and gate voltages even after UV/ozone treatment. Some of the CDs observed after the treatment were aperiodic, presumably reflecting the discrete energy levels in TPDT.

KEYWORDS: self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), nanogap electrodes, molecular devices, Coulomb blockade, Coulomb diamond, single-electron transistors, UV/ozone cleaning
URL: http://jjap.ipap.jp/link?JJAP/46/1731/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.46.1731

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