Implementation of Molecular Transistor Electrodes by Electromigration

Gaps with a size of less than 5 nm have been fabricated in 15-nm-thick and 200-nm-wide gold strips deposited on sapphire substrates. Preparation conditions providing a sufficient adhesion of such electrodes as well as the parameters for the electromigration process used to fabricate the gaps have been found which allow a successful gap implementation. Such gaps transform gold strips to the source-drain electrodes of planar single electron transistors based on nanoparticles or molecules.