Ultraflat nanopores for wafer-scale molecular-electronic applications

Electronic building-blocks whose electrical characteristics are based on the intrinsic transport mechanism of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of molecules have the potential to offer novel and application-tailored functionality, achievable via synthetic chemistry approaches, while being less sensitive to microscopic fluctuations compared to single-molecule electronics. To implement such molecular building blocks and exploit their full potential in a solid-state architecture, a scalable platform compatible with standard fabrication processes is necessary, which guarantees molecular integrity throughout the entire process flow. Targeting a platform where the SAM is integrated in a vertical orientation, we present a fabrication process that yields pores with ultrasmooth platinum bottom electrodes and diameters ranging from 100 õm down to 30 nm. This scalable process is demonstrated on 4" wafers with several 10'000 pores per wafer and will allow the statistical study of molecular transport properties based on large datasets under various conditions.