Nanoscale electronic devices and fabrication methods
First Claim
1. A method of forming at least a single conducting chain of nanoparticles between a number of contacts on a substrate comprising or including the steps of:
- a. forming contacts separated by a distance smaller than 10 microns on the substrate,b. preparing a plurality of nanoparticles, said nanoparticles being composed of two or more atoms of the same or different elements, of uniform or non-uniform size, and subsequentlyc. directing a beam of the nanoparticles towards the substrate to randomly deposit a plurality of said nanoparticles on the substrate at least in the region between the contacts until the particles form at least one chain of nanoparticles between the contacts through which conduction consisting essentially of ohmic conduction can occur.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method of forming a conducting nanowire between two contacts on a substrate surface wherein a plurality of nanoparticles is deposited on the substrate in the region between the contacts, and the single nanowire running substantially between the two contacts is formed by either by monitoring the conduction between the contacts and ceasing deposition at the onset of conduction, and/or modifying the substrate to achieve, or taking advantage of pre-existing topographical features which will cause the nanoparticles to form the nanowire. The resultant conducting nanowires are also claimed as well as devices incorporating such nanowires.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A method of forming at least a single conducting chain of nanoparticles between a number of contacts on a substrate comprising or including the steps of:
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a. forming contacts separated by a distance smaller than 10 microns on the substrate, b. preparing a plurality of nanoparticles, said nanoparticles being composed of two or more atoms of the same or different elements, of uniform or non-uniform size, and subsequently c. directing a beam of the nanoparticles towards the substrate to randomly deposit a plurality of said nanoparticles on the substrate at least in the region between the contacts until the particles form at least one chain of nanoparticles between the contacts through which conduction consisting essentially of ohmic conduction can occur. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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20. A method of forming a conducting nanowire between two contacts on a substrate surface comprising or including the steps of:
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a. forming the contacts separated by a distance smaller than 10 microns on the substrate, b. preparing a plurality of nanoparticles, said nanoparticles being composed of two or more atoms of the same or different elements, of uniform or non-uniform size, c. directing a beam of the nanoparticles towards the substrate to randomly deposit a plurality of said nanoparticles on the substrate at least in the region between the contacts, d. monitoring the formation of the conducting nanowire by monitoring conduction between the two contacts, and ceasing deposition at the onset of conduction comprising predominantly ohmic conduction. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of forming a conducting nanowire between two contacts on a substrate surface comprising or including the steps of:
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a. forming spaced contacts on the substrate, b. preparing a plurality of nanoparticles, said nanoparticles being composed of two or more atoms of the same or different elements, of uniform or non-uniform size, c. directing a beam of the nanoparticles towards the substrate to randomly deposit a plurality of said nanoparticles on the substrate in the region between the contacts, d. achieving a single nanowire running substantially between the two contacts by either; i. monitoring the conduction between the contacts, said contacts being separated by a distance smaller than 10 microns, and ceasing deposition at the onset of ohmic conduction, or ii. modifying the substrate to achieve, or taking advantage of pre-existing topographical features which will cause the nanoparticles to form the nanowire. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification