VOLTAGE OSCILLATIONS IN AN ARRAY OF TUNNEL-JUNCTIONS CONTROLLED BY A SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE GATE AT ROOM-TEMPERATURE

We observe that a current through an array of tunnel junctions can be controlled by a gate at room temperature. Metal islands were formed on an insulating substrate and liquid crystal molecules were placed betw een these islands. Electrodes were placed 5 mm apart on the substrate and a bias was applied between them. A scanning tunneling microscope ( STM) tip which acts as a gate was supported on molecules which act as the central electrodes. When this two-dimensional tunnel junction arra y was current biased, the tunnel current flow across this array could be controlled by the gate voltage at room temperature.