Ferroelectric lithography: bottom-up assembly and electrical performance of a single metallic nanowire

We report on both the assembly of noble-metal nanowires by means of the nanotechnological and large-scale integrable approach of ferroelectric lithography and their performance testing upon electrical transport. Our results on LiNbO(3) single crystal templates show that the deposition of different elemental metals from ionic solutions by photochemical reduction is confined to the ferroelectric 180 degrees domain walls. Current-voltage-characteristics recorded from such nanowires of typically 30-300 microm in length revealed an Ohmic behavior that even improved with time. Additionally, we also examined the local topographic and potentiostatic properties of such wires using dynamic scanning force microscopy in combination with Kelvin probe force microscopy.