Large conductance modulation of gold thin films by huge charge injection via electrochemical gating

TL;DR

This study demonstrates a novel electrochemical gating method to inject high surface charge densities into gold films, resulting in significant conductance modulation and potential applications in 2D material doping and superconductivity.

Contribution

Introduces a new polymer-electrolyte combination enabling large charge injection and conductance control in gold films, extending possibilities for 2D material research.

Findings

Injected charge densities up to 3.5 x 10^15 e/cm^2

Observed up to 10% resistance variation in gold films

Resistance change linearly related to charge density in thick films

Abstract

By using an electrochemical gating technique with a new combination of polymer and electrolyte, we were able to inject surface charge densities n_2D as high as 3.5 \times 10^15 e/cm^2 in gold films and to observe large relative variations in the film resistance, DeltaR/R', up to 10% at low temperature. DeltaR/R' is a linear function of n_2D - as expected within a free-electron model - if the film is thick enough (> 25 nm), otherwise a tendency to saturation due to size effects is observed. The application of this technique to 2D materials will allow extending the field-effect experiments to a range of charge doping where giant conductance modulations and, in some cases, even the occurrence of superconductivity are expected.