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Towards molecular electronics with large-area molecular junctions

Nature volume 441, pages 69–72 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Electronic transport through single molecules has been studied extensively by academic1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and industrial9,10 research groups. Discrete tunnel junctions, or molecular diodes, have been reported using scanning probes11,12, break junctions13,14, metallic crossbars6 and nanopores8,15. For technological applications, molecular tunnel junctions must be reliable, stable and reproducible. The conductance per molecule, however, typically varies by many orders of magnitude5. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) may offer a promising route to the fabrication of reliable devices, and charge transport through SAMs of alkanethiols within nanopores is well understood, with non-resonant tunnelling dominating the transport mechanism8. Unfortunately, electrical shorts in SAMs are often formed upon vapour deposition of the top electrode16,17,18, which limits the diameter of the nanopore diodes to about 45 nm. Here we demonstrate a method to manufacture molecular junctions with diameters up to 100 µm with high yields (> 95 per cent). The junctions show excellent stability and reproducibility, and the conductance per unit area is similar to that obtained for benchmark nanopore diodes. Our technique involves processing the molecular junctions in the holes of a lithographically patterned photoresist, and then inserting a conducting polymer interlayer between the SAM and the metal top electrode. This simple approach is potentially low-cost and could pave the way for practical molecular electronics.

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Figure 1: Processing steps of a large-area molecular junction.
Figure 2: I – V measurements at various temperatures of decanedithiol SAM on a device of diameter 100 µm.
Figure 3: The current density versus applied voltage for 1,8-octanedithiol, 1,10-decanedithiol, 1,12-dodecanedithiol and 1,14-tetradecanedithiol.
Figure 4: Stability and operational lifetime of molecular junctions.
Figure 5: Current normalized per single molecule for decane(di)thiols at 0.2 V bias versus the device area.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Mulder, T. C. T. Geuns, E. A. Meulenkamp, E. Cantatore and S. Bakker for their assistance, and the Materials Science CentrePlus for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science Centre, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Hylke B. Akkerman, Paul W. M. Blom & Bert de Boer

  2. Philips Research Laboratories, High Tech Campus 4, NL-5656 AA, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Dago M. de Leeuw

Authors
  1. Hylke B. Akkerman
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  2. Paul W. M. Blom
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  3. Dago M. de Leeuw
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  4. Bert de Boer
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Correspondence to Bert de Boer.

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Akkerman, H., Blom, P., de Leeuw, D. et al. Towards molecular electronics with large-area molecular junctions. Nature 441, 69–72 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04699

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