Dutch researchers create nanotube-based single-electron transistor

from the molectronics dept.
Researchers in the Netherlands have created a single-electron transistor (SET) made from a single carbon nanotube, whose minute size and low-energy requirements should make it an ideal device for molecular computers. The Dutch nanotube single electron transistor, the first to operate efficiently at room temperature, was described in the 6 July 2001 issue of Science.
"We've added yet another important piece to the toolbox for molecular electronics," said author Cees Dekker of Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands. Dekker and his colleagues started with a single carbon nanotube, and used the tip of an atomic force microscope to create sharp bends, or buckles, in the tube. These buckles worked as the barriers, only allowing single electrons through under the right voltages. The whole device was only 1 nm wide and 20 nanometers long.