5.1.5 Gold Clusters

  Finally we want to mention linked gold clusters [6] [55] [93]. Here a totally different approach of fabrication is followed. Instead of patterning or depositing material on a substrate, gold clusters, with a diameter in range from 1-20 nm with a narrow size distribution, covered with an organic layer are manufactured first. These clusters are then spread on a surface, as shown in Fig. 5.5, and linked with molecular wires, consisting of conductive organic molecules.

  

Figure 5.5: Array of linked gold clusters. The gold clusters are grown as aerosol particles, annealed, spread on a surface and linked with molecular wires.

The metal clusters are grown as aerosol particles in a gas aggregation reactor and are annealed in flight to yield perfect single crystal particles. An appealing feature is that this technique is close to an impurity and defect free production, which is, due to the extreme charge sensitivity of single-electron devices, a big advantage.