Gold cluster formation at the interface of a gold/Langmuir-Blodgett film/gold microsandwich resulting in Coulomb charging phenomena

Abstract

Structural analysis of the cross section of gold/Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) polymer film/gold sandwich structures was performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the obtained results were complemented by electron transport investigations of the sandwich structures. The polymer film consisted of four to ten LB monolayers of a nonconducting polymer. TEM analysis of the sandwich cross section revealed a number of gold particles, 2–5 nm in size, formed during the fabrication process within the LB film close to the top electrode. Low temperature dc-transport measurements showed current-voltage (I-V) characteristics with equidistant steps that are not expected if the polymer film is thought to form a single laterally extended tunneling barrier between the metal electrodes. This feature can be understood, however, on the basis of the Coulomb blockade model applied to cluster-like metallic inclusions acting as an island separated from both Au electrodes by tunneling barriers.