Room-temperature single-electron transistors using alkanedithiols
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Plasma-assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy of N-polar InAlN-barrier High-electron-mobility Transistors
Published on: November 24, 2016
Kang Luo1, Dong-Hun Chae, Zhen Yao
1Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Abstract:
We have fabricated single-electron transistors by alkanedithiol molecular self-assembly. The devices consist of spontaneously formed ultrasmall Au nanoparticles linked by alkanedithiols to nanometer-spaced Au electrodes created by electromigration. The devices reproducibly exhibit addition energies of a few hundred meV, which enables the observation of single-electron tunneling at room temperature. At low temperatures, tunneling through discrete energy levels in the Au nanoparticles is observed, which is accompanied by the excitations of molecular vibrations at large bias voltage.
Related Concept Videos
Reduction of Alkynes to trans-Alkenes: Sodium in Liquid Ammonia
When dissolved in liquid ammonia, an alkali metal, such as sodium, dissociates into a...
Radical Substitution: Hydrogenolysis of Alkyl Halides with Tributyltin Hydride
The bonds formed in this reaction are stronger than the bonds broken, making it energetically favorable. The reaction follows a radical chain mechanism similar to radical halogenation reactions,...
Oxidation of Alkenes: Syn Dihydroxylation with Osmium Tetraoxide
Preparation and Reactions of Thiols

