Spider-silk-based fabrication of nanogaps and wires

We report on the use of spider fibers as micro- and nanostencils for the fabrication of nanogaps between ultrathin conductive electrodes, and as molds for fabrication of micro- and nanowires by deposition of evaporated gold. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) morphological characterization of the nanogaps is described, together with the measurement of the electrical behavior of both nanogaps and nanowires. Gaps as narrow as 20 nm, comparable to e-beam-fabricated gaps, with electrical resistance higher than 10(13) Ω have been obtained; while conductive fibers ranging from 350 nm to 1.5 μm in diameter and resistances ranging from 50 MΩ to 100 Ω have been obtained and characterized.