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Cover image for Current at the nanoscale : an introduction to nanoelectronics
Title:
Current at the nanoscale : an introduction to nanoelectronics
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Publication Information:
London : Imperial College Press : Distributed by World Scientific Pub., 2007
ISBN:
9781860948237
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30000010163800 TK7874.8 D87 2007 Open Access Book Book
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30000003500489 TK7874.8 D87 2007 Open Access Book Book
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Summary

Summary

This introductory text deals with how electric currents behave at the nanometer scale. The book ties together several aspects of recent research on current flow at the nanoscale, including its relevance in defects, grain boundaries, tunneling, and atomic contacts; its effects through nanostructures, particularly for transistor miniaturization; and the techniques used to probe currents and voltages at the nanoscale, focusing on scanning probe microscopy and transport measurements. It covers topics such as quantum transport, mesoscopic physics, and molecular electronics, among others.Unlike other books on this subject that are almost entirely theoretical, the introductory nature of this book strikes a balance between theory and experiment. Moreover, given the introductory nature of the book, it will not become obsolete quickly and chapters can be added at later stages as new developments inevitably arise. Based largely on MEng and MPhil courses that have been originated and taught by the author, as well as on his own research, the book is written primarily for postgraduate students, but contains elements that undergraduates can also understand and apply. The wide coverage of topics allows for a broad readership base, and serves as a good starting point for those who wish to do work on nanoscale transport.


Table of Contents

Prefacep. vii
1 Macroscopic Current Flowp. 1
1.1 The Classical (Drude) Model of Electronic Conduction and Ohm's Lawp. 2
1.2 The Quantum (Free-Electron) Model of Electronic Conductionp. 4
1.3 The Nearly-Free Electron Model of Electronic Conduction and Band Structurep. 13
1.4 Effective Massp. 21
1.5 The Origins of Electrical Resistancep. 24
1.6 Size Effects on Electrical Resistancep. 31
1.7 Overview of Transistorsp. 32
1.8 Surface Effectsp. 36
2 Quantum Current Flowp. 41
2.1 Why Shrink Devices?p. 44
2.2 Point Contacts: From Mesoscopic to Atomicp. 46
2.3 Conductance from Transmissionp. 48
2.4 Calculation of Transmission Probability and Current Flow in Quantum Systemsp. 55
2.4.1 Introduction to the concept of transmission probabilityp. 55
2.4.2 Single potential stepp. 57
2.4.3 Single potential barrierp. 61
2.4.3.1 Symmetric barrier: No applied voltagep. 61
2.4.3.2 Asymmetric barrier: Current flow due to applied biasp. 66
2.4.4 Double potential barrierp. 69
2.4.4.1 Symmetric barriers: No applied voltagep. 69
2.4.4.2 Tunnelling through multiple barriers with no phase coherencep. 74
2.4.4.3 Asymmetric barriers: Applied voltagep. 78
2.4.4.4 Resonant tunnelling devices: Further detailsp. 82
2.4.5 A more realistic calculation for a single potential barrier: The WKB approximationp. 85
2.5 Techniques for the Fabrication of Quantum Nanostructuresp. 92
3 Mesoscopic Transport: Between the Nanoscale and the Macroscalep. 99
3.1 Introductionp. 99
3.2 Boltzmann Transport Equationp. 100
3.3 Resistivity of Thin Films and Wires: Surface Scatteringp. 100
3.3.1 General principlesp. 100
3.3.2 1D confinement: Thin filmp. 103
3.3.3 2D confinement: Rectangular wirep. 105
3.3.4 2D confinement: Cylindrical wiresp. 106
3.4 Resistivity of Thin Films and Wires: Grain-Boundary Scatteringp. 107
3.5 Experimental Aspects: How to Measure the Resistance of a Thin Filmp. 113
4 Scanning-Probe Multimetersp. 119
4.1 Scanning-Probe Microscopy: An Introductionp. 119
4.2 Scanning Tunnelling Microscopyp. 121
4.2.1 Basic principlesp. 121
4.2.2 Scanning tunnelling microscopy in practisep. 126
4.3 Atomic Force Microscopyp. 134
4.3.1 Modes of operation of AFMp. 135
4.3.2 Kelvin-probe force microscopyp. 140
4.3.3 Conducting mode AFMp. 143
5 Electromigration: How Currents Move Atoms, and Implications for Nanoelectronicsp. 155
5.1 Introduction to Electromigration, Wire Morphologyp. 155
5.2 Fundamentals of Electromigration - The Electron Windp. 156
5.3 Electromigration-Induced Stress in a Nanowire Devicep. 158
5.4 Current-Induced Heating in a Nanowire Devicep. 160
5.5 Diffusion of Material, Importance of Surfaces, Failure of Wiresp. 167
5.6 Experimental Observations of Electromigration and Heating in Nanowiresp. 169
5.6.1 Failure as a function of wire lengthp. 170
5.6.2 Failure as a function of wire widthp. 170
5.7 Experimental Observations of Electromigration in Micron-Scale Wiresp. 173
5.8 Wire Heating - Additional Considerationsp. 174
5.9 Consequences for Nanoelectronicsp. 181
6 Elements of Single-Electron and Molecular Electronicsp. 185
6.1 Single-Electron Transport and Coulomb Blockadep. 185
6.2 Molecular Electronics: Why Bother?p. 188
6.3 Mechanisms of Electron Transport Through Moleculesp. 190
6.4 Visualising Transport Through Moleculesp. 192
6.5 The Contact Resistance Problemp. 193
6.6 Contacting Moleculesp. 194
6.6.1 Nanogaps formed by electron-beam lithographyp. 195
6.6.2 Nanogaps formed by electromigrationp. 195
6.6.3 Mechanically-controlled break junctionsp. 198
6.6.4 Molecular sandwichesp. 200
6.6.5 STM probing of moleculesp. 201
6.7 The Futurep. 202
Solutions to Problems in Chapter 2p. 207
Indexp. 209
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