Room temperature single electron transistor based on a size-selected aluminium cluster.

Area of Science:

• Physics and Materials Science
• Nanotechnology and Quantum Devices

Background:

• Single electron transistors (SETs) are crucial for investigating nanoscale object properties.
• A significant challenge is the precise placement of nano-objects between electrical contacts under pristine conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a versatile two-point contacting approach for fabricating SET devices with nano-objects.
• To demonstrate the capability of this method by creating a SET with a single aluminum cluster.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an innovative cluster beam deposition technique to deposit a single aluminum cluster (66 ± 5 atoms) directly into a gold nanogap.
• Constructed a prototypical SET device in situ using this two-point contacting method.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated a SET device with a single aluminum cluster.
• Observed clear Coulomb blockade oscillations at room temperature through gate-driven conductance measurements.
• Extracted a charging energy of 0.14 eV, which is substantially larger than k_BT at 300 K.

Conclusions:

• The developed two-point contacting approach effectively addresses the challenge of placing nano-objects for SET fabrication.
• This method provides a model platform for high-precision probing of quantum features in various nano-objects.
• Demonstrates the potential for room-temperature operation of SETs with precisely controlled nano-objects.