Reproducible interconnects assembled from gold nanorods

Abstract

By using cleanroom-based lithographic procedures to produce identical electrode arrays, we have fabricated dielectrophoretic nanowires that vary in their conductance by ±10%. Transmission electron microscopy established the presence of interconnect segments composed of densely aggregated nanoparticles and of individual nanorods lying in the current-carrying path. The current-voltage profiles of these interconnects exhibited barriers to charge transport at temperatures less than ∼225K; furthermore, their conductances increased exponentially with temperature with an activation energy comparable to the nanorod charging energy. These results indicate that the Coulomb blockade associated with individual nanorods in the interconnects is the primary conductance-limiting feature.