Nanoscale Variable-Area Electronic Devices: Contact Mechanics and Hypersensitive Pressure Application

Nanomembranes (NMs) are freestanding structures with few-nanometer thickness and lateral dimensions up to the microscale. In nanoelectronics, NMs have been used to promote reliable electrical contacts with distinct nanomaterials, such as molecules, quantum dots, and nanowires, as well as to support the comprehension of the condensed matter down to the nanoscale. Here, we propose a tunable device architecture that is capable of deterministically changing both the contact geometry and the current injection in nanoscale electronic junctions. The device is based on a hybrid arrangement that joins metallic NMs and molecular ensembles, resulting in a versatile, mechanically compliant element. Such a feature allows the devices to accommodate a mechanical stimulus applied over the top electrodes, enlarging the junctions' active area without compromising the molecules. A model derived from the Hertzian mechanics is employed to correlate the contact dynamics with the electronic transport in these novel devices denominated as variable-area transport junctions (VATJs). As a proof of concept, we propose a direct application of the VATJs as compression gauges envisioning the development of hypersensitive pressure pixels. Regarding sensitivity (∼480 kPa^-1), the VATJ-based transducers constitute a breakthrough in nanoelectronics, with the prospect of carrying its sister-field of molecular electronics out of the laboratory via integrative, hybrid organic/inorganic nanotechnology.