Tunnel diodes fabricated from CdSe nanocrystal monolayers

A parallel approach for fabricating nanocrystal-based semiconductor-insulat or-metal tunnel diodes is presented. The devices consisted of a Au electrod e, a monolayer of 38 Angstrom CdSe nanocrystals, an insulating bilayer of e icosanoic acid (C19H39CO2H), and an Al electrode. Each device was approxima tely 100 mu m(2). Conductance measurements at 77 K reveal strong diode beha vior and evidence of Coulomb blockade and staircase structure. A single bar rier model was found to reproduce the electronic characteristics of these d evices. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)04502-7].