Removable template route to metallic nanowires and nanogaps

A general method for the fabrication of nanowires with a thickness of simil ar to6 nm and width of 15-20 nm is presented. The approach is applicable to inorganic and organic materials and is demonstrated here for metallic syst ems. The wires are produced by ion-beam etching of a gold-palladium thin fi lms covered by chemically modified vanadium-pentoxide nanowires as an etchi ng mask. The two-probe room-temperature resistance of the wires is found to range between 7.8 and 18.1 k Omega. Nanogaps with a length on the order of 1 nm were created within the nanowires by breaking via electromigration. ( C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.