Simulation and growth of gold on silicon oxide in one-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional arrays

The granular film deposition of gold atoms by means of thermal evaporation on silicon oxide surfaces is known to produce nanometer-scale islands which show electrical characteristics dominated by Coulomb blockade. Here we rep ort on the growth and the simulation of structures produced by a combinatio n of evaporation and lithography. A lithographic technique is used to defin e a region of a width of several nm that is surrounded by polymethylmethacr ylate (PMMA). The PMMA confines the diffusion of the atoms, and the growth process is characterized by different boundary conditions compared with the case where atoms are deposited on a macroscopic surface. This method enabl es us to create quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) and 1D structures in which the gold islands are arranged in a single row where the lateral size is on ly a few nanometers. Such structures offer the possibility of studying Coul omb blockade in 1D arrays and a signature of self-organized growth is obser ved in such structures. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979 (00)07510-1].