Nanopatterned crossbar structures for molecular electronics

Nano-patterned crossbar structures were fabricated as test structures for the development of nanoelectronic devices based on functional molecules. The crossbar structures serve as a platform for testing electronic properties of molecules and their interface to metal electrodes. The fabrication of the crossbar structures involved electron-beam lithography of sub-100-nm features aligned to electrodes pre-patterned by LTV lithography and the deposition of and pattern transfer into an intermediate layer. The molecules to be tested were self-assembled as a monolayer on the nanopatterned area. The top electrode structures were subsequently deposited on top of the intermediate layer. The crossbar architecture allows measuring the current-voltage characteristics across the molecules for each crossing point individually.