Single electron on a nanodot in a double-barrier tunneling structure observed by noncontact atomic-force spectroscopy

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Jan 13;96(1):016108. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.016108. Epub 2006 Jan 12.

Abstract

A single electron has been observed on a nanodot in a double-barrier tunneling structure by noncontact atomic-force microscopy at fixed separation. Frequency shift-voltage dependence of an Au-coated cantilever/vacuum/1-decanethiol protected Au nanodot/1-octanethiol self-assembled monolayer/Au substrate structure deviates from the theoretical parabolic curve, which is attributed to the change in the number of quantized electrons on the Au nanodot caused by the Coulomb blockade phenomena.