Self-breaking in planar few-atom Au constrictions for nm-spaced electrodes

TL;DR

This study investigates the self-breaking behavior of electromigrated gold nanojunctions at room temperature, revealing continuous narrowing and electrode separation without gold cluster formation, which could improve nanogap fabrication.

Contribution

It demonstrates a self-breaking process in gold nanojunctions that avoids gold cluster formation, enhancing control over nanogap creation for nanoelectronic applications.

Findings

Wires continue to narrow after voltage removal.

No evidence of gold cluster formation in self-breaking junctions.

Over 300 samples analyzed confirming reproducibility.

Abstract

We present results on electromigrated Au nanojunctions broken near the conductance quantum $77.5 \mu$S. At room temperature we find that wires, initially narrowed by an actively-controlled electromigration technique down to a few conductance quanta, continue to narrow after removing the applied voltage. Separate electrodes form as mobile gold atoms continuously reconfigure the constriction. We find, from results obtained on over 300 samples, no evidence for gold cluster formation in junctions broken without an applied voltage, implying that gold clusters may be avoided by using this self-breaking technique.