title: Fabricating nanogaps by nanoskiving.
abstract: There are several methods of fabricating nanogaps with controlled spacings, but the precise control over the sub-nanometer spacing between two electrodes-and generating them in practical quantities-is still challenging. The preparation of nanogap electrodes using nanoskiving, which is a form of edge lithography, is a fast, simple and powerful technique. This method is an entirely mechanical process which does not include any photo- or electron-beam lithographic steps and does not require any special equipment or infrastructure such as clean rooms. Nanoskiving is used to fabricate electrically addressable nanogaps with control over all three dimensions; the smallest dimension of these structures is defined by the thickness of the sacrificial layer (Al or Ag) or self-assembled monolayers. These wires can be manually positioned by transporting them on drops of water and are directly electrically-addressable; no further lithography is required to connect them to an electrometer.
authors.affiliation: Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pourhossein
authors.forename: Ryan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Chiechi
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D004867:Equipment Design; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D012834:Silver; D000535:Aluminum; D012825:Silicon