Nanogaps with very large aspect ratios for electrical measurements

For nanoscale electrical characterization and device fabrication, it is often desirable to fabricate planar metal electrodes separated by large aspect ratio gaps with interelectrode distances well below 100 nm. We demonstrate a self-aligned process to accomplish this goal using a thin Cr film as a sacrificial etch layer. The resulting gaps can be as small as 10 nm and have aspect ratios exceeding 1000, with excellent interelectrode isolation. Such Ti/Au electrodes are demonstrated on Si substrates and are used to examine a voltage-driven transition in magnetite nanostructures. This shows the utility of this fabrication approach even with relatively reactive substrates. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.