A suspended nanogap formed by field-induced atomically sharp tips

Abstract

A sub-nanometer scale suspended gap (nanogap) defined by electric field-induced atomically sharp metallic tips is presented. A strong local electric field (>109 V/m) across micro/nanomachined tips facing each other causes the metal ion migration in the form of dendrite-like growth at the cathode. The nanogap is fully isolated from the substrate eliminating growth mechanisms that involve substrate interactions. The proposed mechanism of ion transportation is verified using real-time imaging of the metal ion transportation using an in situ biasing in transmission electron microscope (TEM). The configuration of the micro/nanomachined suspended tips allows nanostructure growth of a wide variety of materials including metals, metal-oxides, and polymers.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 29, 2012
Source ID
10.1063/1.4764562

Entities

People

  • Chung Hoon Lee
  • Jun Hyun Han
  • Kyung Song
  • Sang Ho Oh
  • Shankar Radhakrishnan

Organizations

  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Marquette University
  • Pohang University of Science and Technology

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Information Retrieval
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene