title: A new approach for high-yield metal-molecule-metal junctions by direct metal transfer method.
abstract: The realization of high-yield, stable molecular junctions has been a long-standing challenge in the field of molecular electronics research, and it is an essential prerequisite for characterizing and understanding the charge transport properties of molecular junctions prior to their device applications. Here, we introduce a new approach for obtaining high-yield, vertically structured metal-molecule-metal junctions in which the top metal electrodes are formed on alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers by a direct metal transfer method without the use of any additional protecting interlayers in the junctions. The fabricated alkanethiolate molecular devices exhibited considerably improved device yields (∼70%) in comparison to the typical low device yields (less than a few %) of molecular junctions in which the top metal electrodes are fabricated using the conventional evaporation method. We compared our method with other molecular device fabrication methods in terms of charge transport parameters. This study suggests a potential new device platform for realizing robust, high-yield molecular junctions and investigating the electronic properties of devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute of Applied Physics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunhak
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Dongku
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Pilkwang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Myung Rae
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Wang-Taek
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Yeonsik
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Kyungjune
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Misook
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Yun Daniel
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Heejun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Takhee
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lee