Abstract

Single-electron transistors (SETs) are sub-10-nm scale electronic devices based on conductive Coulomb islands sandwiched between double-barrier tunneling barriers. Chemically assembled SETs with alkanethiol-protected Au nanoparticles show highly stable Coulomb diamonds and two-input logic operations. The combination of bottom-up and top-down processes used to form the passivation layer is vital for realizing multi-gate chemically assembled SET circuits, as this combination enables us to connect conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies via planar processes. Here, three-input gate exclusive-OR (XOR) logic operations are demonstrated in passivated chemically assembled SETs. The passivation layer is a hybrid bilayer of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and pulsed laser deposited (PLD) aluminum oxide (AlO), and top-gate electrodes were prepared on the hybrid passivation layers. Top and two-side-gated SETs showed clear Coulomb oscillation and diamonds for each of the three available gates, and three-input gate XOR logic operation was clearly demonstrated. These results show the potential of chemically assembled SETs to work as logic devices with multi-gate inputs using organic and inorganic hybrid passivation layers.

Highlights

  • Novel sub-10-nm scale transistors are required for the realization of next-generation electronics, since a widely accepted design rule for semiconductor devices is that they must shrink over time, down to 5 nm within the 10 years based on current projections [1]

  • We report three-input gate logic operations on a single chemically assembled Single-electron transistors (SETs) with hybrid passivated bilayers based on mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and pulsed laser deposited (PLD) aluminum oxide (AlOx)

  • Two theoretical curves coincide well with the experimental Coulomb staircases, indicating that the hybrid SAM and AlOx passivated SET still functioned after the PLD and electron-beam lithography (EBL) processes for the passivation and top-gate electrode, respectively, during which the sample was pre-baked at 423 K for 10 min within the EBL process

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Summary

Introduction

Novel sub-10-nm scale transistors are required for the realization of next-generation electronics, since a widely accepted design rule for semiconductor devices is that they must shrink over time, down to 5 nm within the 10 years based on current projections [1]. Even with Coulomb islands of colloidal Au nanoparticles covered by organic alkanethiol molecules, the hybrid passivated SETs showed clear and stable Coulomb diamonds with applied top-gate voltage [36]. We report three-input gate logic operations on a single chemically assembled SET with hybrid passivated bilayers based on mixed SAMs and pulsed laser deposited (PLD) aluminum oxide (AlOx). XOR logic operations with the three-input gates are demonstrated by applying simultaneous pulse gate voltages These results extend the possibility of combining top-down and bottom-up adoption technologies for the fabrication of chemically assembled SET logic circuits, in which organic alkanethiols and inorganic materials are used as hybrid insulators

Experimental details
Top-gate
Results and discussion
Conclusions

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