In-situ growth and fabrication of metal-organic charge transfer complex nanowire devices with controlled diameter using dielectrophoretic force

Abstract

Ultrathin Cu:TCNQ (Cu-tetracyanoquinodimethane) nanowires (∼10–50 nm diameter) are interesting from a fundamental point of view to study electrical as well as opto-electronic transport and also held promising interest in nanoelectronics, particularly for photodetector applications. Dielectrophoresis-based device fabrication from an aqueous solution is useful and has some potential applications. However, such device fabrication may degrade material property. Herein, we demonstrate directed in-situ growth and assembly of Cu:TCNQ nanowire at predefined electrodes in vacuum using dc dielectrophoresis. The mechanistic understanding of the process is verified by COMSOL Multiphysics simulation. The externally applied electric field also exploits to control over the number as well as diameter of the nanowire during growth. Field grown nanowires bridging two electrodes are structurally characterized using a unique challenging technique with Transmission Electron Microscope. The field-grown nanowires are found to have better electrical performance compared to normal growth.