An ohmic nanocontact to GaAs

The formation and characterization of nanometer-size, ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs substrates are described. The nanocontacts are formed between a single-crystalline, nanometer-size Au cluster and a GaAs structure capped with layer of low-temperature-grown GaAs (LTG:GaAs). An organic monolayer of xylyl dithiol (p-xylene-α,α′- dithiol; C8H10S2) provides mechanical and electronic tethering of the Au cluster to the LTG:GaAs surface. The I(V) data of the Au cluster/xylyl dithiol/GaAs show ohmic contact behavior with good repeatability between various clusters distributed across the surface. The specific contact resistance is determined to be 1×10−6 Ω cm2. Current densities above 1×106 A/cm2 have been observed.