title: Single-molecule electrical contacts on silicon electrodes under ambient conditions.
abstract: The ultimate goal in molecular electronics is to use individual molecules as the active electronic component of a real-world sturdy device. For this concept to become reality, it will require the field of single-molecule electronics to shift towards the semiconducting platform of the current microelectronics industry. Here, we report silicon-based single-molecule contacts that are mechanically and electrically stable under ambient conditions. The single-molecule contacts are prepared on silicon electrodes using the scanning tunnelling microscopy break-junction approach using a top metallic probe. The molecular wires show remarkable current-voltage reproducibility, as compared to an open silicon/nano-gap/metal junction, with current rectification ratios exceeding 4,000 when a low-doped silicon is used. The extension of the single-molecule junction approach to a silicon substrate contributes to the next level of miniaturization of electronic components and it is anticipated it will pave the way to a new class of robust single-molecule circuits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry &Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTC), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Baldiri Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-BBN), Campus Río Ebro-Edificio I+D, Poeta Mariano Esquillor s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Aragonès
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science &Engineering, Curtin University, Nanochemistry Research Institute, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia.
authors.forename: Nadim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Darwish
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science &Engineering, Curtin University, Nanochemistry Research Institute, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ciampi
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry &Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTC), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Baldiri Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-BBN), Campus Río Ebro-Edificio I+D, Poeta Mariano Esquillor s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: J Justin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gooding
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry &Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTC), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Baldiri Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-BBN), Campus Río Ebro-Edificio I+D, Poeta Mariano Esquillor s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Ismael
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Díez-Pérez