Nanoscale variable resistor/electromechanical transistor

US8492231B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona · US
• NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · US

Inventors

• Jerome Alexandre Bürki · Pleasant Hill, US
• Charles Allen Stafford · Tucson, US
• Daniel L. Stein · New York, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 25, 2008
• Grant date: Jul 23, 2013
• Expiry date: Nov 2, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B82Y99/00
• WIPO field: Micro-structural and nano-technology
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A nanoscale variable resistor including a metal nanowire as an active element, a dielectric, and a gate. By selective application of a gate voltage, stochastic transitions between different conducting states, and even length, of the nanowire can be induced and with a switching time as fast as picoseconds. With an appropriate choice of dielectric, the transconductance of the device, which may also be considered an “electromechanical transistor,” is shown to significantly exceed the conductance quantum G0=2e2/h.