Method for testing electronic self-assembled monolayers using a flip-chip arrangement

Abstract

We present an approach to testing large numbers of molecular-scale devices using flip-chip structures fabricated with standard micromachining techniques. The key fabrication step is the anisotropic etching of silicon to form a knife-edge structure which is 25 nm wide at its tip. To perform the testing, two chips are placed knife edge to knife edge with one chip rotated 90°. The intersecting edges from nanometer-scale probe surfaces. The test chips include micromachined stand-offs that precisely set the gap between the knife edges and enable the use of simple test apparatus to control the positioning of the probes. Preliminary test results are presented.