IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v8y2017i1d10.1038_ncomms15056.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Single-molecule electrical contacts on silicon electrodes under ambient conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Albert C. Aragonès

    (University of Barcelona
    Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)
    Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-BBN))

  • Nadim Darwish

    (Faculty of Science & Engineering, Curtin University, Nanochemistry Research Institute)

  • Simone Ciampi

    (Faculty of Science & Engineering, Curtin University, Nanochemistry Research Institute)

  • Fausto Sanz

    (University of Barcelona
    Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)
    Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-BBN))

  • J. Justin Gooding

    (School of Chemistry and Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, The University of New South Wales)

  • Ismael Díez-Pérez

    (University of Barcelona
    Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)
    Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-BBN))

Abstract

The ultimate goal in molecular electronics is to use individual molecules as the active electronic component of a real-world sturdy device. For this concept to become reality, it will require the field of single-molecule electronics to shift towards the semiconducting platform of the current microelectronics industry. Here, we report silicon-based single-molecule contacts that are mechanically and electrically stable under ambient conditions. The single-molecule contacts are prepared on silicon electrodes using the scanning tunnelling microscopy break-junction approach using a top metallic probe. The molecular wires show remarkable current–voltage reproducibility, as compared to an open silicon/nano-gap/metal junction, with current rectification ratios exceeding 4,000 when a low-doped silicon is used. The extension of the single-molecule junction approach to a silicon substrate contributes to the next level of miniaturization of electronic components and it is anticipated it will pave the way to a new class of robust single-molecule circuits.

Suggested Citation

  • Albert C. Aragonès & Nadim Darwish & Simone Ciampi & Fausto Sanz & J. Justin Gooding & Ismael Díez-Pérez, 2017. "Single-molecule electrical contacts on silicon electrodes under ambient conditions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms15056
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15056
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15056
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms15056?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms15056. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.