Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
2 p.m., Thursday, March 1, 2007
Room 1201, Physics Building
Novel Nanofabrication Techniques for Molecular Electronics
Etienne De Poortere
(Columbia University)
Abstract: Molecular electronics seeks to reach the ultimate limit
in the fabrication of nanometer-scale devices, by bringing together individual
organic molecules and inorganic materials acting as electrodes. Through the
seemingly endless variety of carbon-based molecules we can fashion, organic
chemistry has already revolutionized the world we live in and the objects we
use; single-molecule switches and sensors may one day bring their own revolution
as well. In the meantime, we need to address basic questions such as the nature
of contacts between molecules and metal electrodes or how molecular states are
affected by their inclusion into solid-state devices. From a practical point of
view, the "alligator clips" used to contact molecules need to be made with as
much precision and reproducibility as possible.
In this talk, I will present several new nanogap fabrication methods,
including one utilizing single-walled carbon nanotubes as shadow masks to create
electrodes separated by only a few nanometers. I will discuss the behavior of
these nanogaps prior to and after molecule assembly, in terms of electron
transport. Finally, I will present our ongoing research towards making
single-molecule transistors resolvable by scanning probe techniques, such as
with the scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
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Host: Fuhrer
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