The goal of this paper is to review in brief the basic physics of single-election devices, as well as their-current and prospective applications. These devices based on the controllable transfer of single electrons between small conducting "islands", have already enabled several important scientific experiments. Several other applications of analog single-election devices in unique scientific instrumentation and metrology seem quite feasible. On the other hand, the prospect of silicon transistors being replaced by single-electron devices in integrated digital circuits faces tough challenges and remains uncertain. Nevertheless, even if this replacement does not happen, single electronics will continue to play an important role by shedding light on the fundamental size limitations of new electronic devices. Moreover, recent research in this field has generated some by-product ideas which may revolutionize random-access-memory and digital-data-storage technologies.

Single-electron devices and their applications

Granular metal films (50–200,000 A thick) were prepared by co-sputtering metals (Ni, Pt, Au) and insulators (SiO2, Al2O3), where the volume fraction of metal, x, was varied from x = 1 to x = 0.05. The materials were characterized by electron micrography, electron and X-ray diffraction, and measurements of composition, density and electrical resistivity at electric fields e up to 106 V/cm and temperatures T in the range of 1.3 to 291 K. In the metallic regime (isolated insulator particles in a metal continuum) and in the transition regime (metal and insulator particles in a metal continuum) and in the transition regime (metal and insulator labyrinth structure) the conduction is due to percolation with a percolation threshold at x⋍0.5. Tunnelling measurements on superconductor-insulator-granular metal junctions reveals that the transition from the metallic regime to the dielectric regime (10–50 A size isolated metal particles in an insulator continuum) is associated with the breaking up of a metal ...

Structural and electrical properties of granular metal films

This review presents an overview of the thermal properties of mesoscopic structures. The discussion is based on the concept of electron energy distribution, and, in particular, on controlling and probing it. The temperature of an electron gas is determined by this distribution: refrigeration is equivalent to narrowing it, and thermometry is probing its convolution with a function characterizing the measuring device. Temperature exists, strictly speaking, only in quasiequilibrium in which the distribution follows the Fermi-Dirac form. Interesting nonequilibrium deviations can occur due to slow relaxation rates of the electrons, e.g., among themselves or with lattice phonons. Observation and applications of nonequilibrium phenomena are also discussed. The focus in this paper is at low temperatures, primarily below $4\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, where physical phenomena on mesoscopic scales and hybrid combinations of various types of materials, e.g., superconductors, normal metals, insulators, and doped semiconductors, open up a rich variety of device concepts. This review starts with an introduction to theoretical concepts and experimental results on thermal properties of mesoscopic structures. Then thermometry and refrigeration are examined with an emphasis on experiments. An immediate application of solid-state refrigeration and thermometry is in ultrasensitive radiation detection, which is discussed in depth. This review concludes with a summary of pertinent fabrication methods of presented devices.

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Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications

(1967). Electrons in disordered structures. Advances in Physics: Vol. 16, No. 61, pp. 49-144.

Electrons in disordered structures

Novel gold‐dithiol nano‐networks with non‐metallic electronic properties

The electrical conduction mechanism in the film plane of ultrathin, evaporated metal films was investigated. These films consist of a planar array of many small discrete islands. The conduction process consists of, first, charge carrier creation which is thermally activated and involves charge transfer between initially neutral particles, and, second, the drift velocity of these charges in an applied field. Charge transfer between particles occurs by tunneling. The following features were predicted and can be verified experimentally: the conductivity depends exponentially on reciprocal temperature, and it should be independent of field at low fields. Deviations from the exponential temperature dependence can be understood in terms of a spectrum of activation energies, while deviations from Ohm's law at high fields can be explained readily in terms of a field dependent activation energy.

C. A. Neugebauer

Papers

Electrical Conduction Mechanism in Ultrathin, Evaporated Metal Films