Formation of nanowires at the percolation threshold in rectangular 2D systems

J. Schmelzer Jr.; Simon A. Brown; M. Schulze; Alan Dunbar; J. Partridge; S. Gourley; B. Ramsay; A. Wurl; M. Hyslop; Richard J. Blaikie

doi:10.1117/12.483568

22 July 2003 Formation of nanowires at the percolation threshold in rectangular 2D systems

J. Schmelzer Jr., Simon A. Brown, M. Schulze, Alan Dunbar, J. Partridge, S. Gourley, B. Ramsay, A. Wurl, M. Hyslop, Richard J. Blaikie

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5055, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Smart Electronics, MEMS, BioMEMS, and Nanotechnology; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.483568
Event: Smart Structures and Materials, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Random deposition of conducting nanoparticles on a flat two dimensional (2D) substrate leads to the formation of a conducting path at the percolation threshold. In sufficiently small systems significant finite size effects are expected. However, in the 2D square systems that are usually studied, the random deposition means that the main effect of small system sizes is that stochastic fluctuations become increasingly large. We have performed experiments and simulations on rectangular 2D nanoparticle films with nanoscale overall dimensions. The sample geometry is chosen to limit stochastic fluctuations in the film’s properties. In the experiments bismuth nanoparticles with mean diameters in the range 20-60nm are deposited between contacts with separations down to 300nm. At small contact separations there is a significant shift in the percolation threshold (pc) and the conducting path formed close to pc resembles a nanowire. Percolation theory describes the experimental onset of conduction well: there is good agreement between predicted and measured values of the power law exponent for the correlation length.

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J. Schmelzer Jr., Simon A. Brown, M. Schulze, Alan Dunbar, J. Partridge, S. Gourley, B. Ramsay, A. Wurl, M. Hyslop, and Richard J. Blaikie "Formation of nanowires at the percolation threshold in rectangular 2D systems", Proc. SPIE 5055, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Smart Electronics, MEMS, BioMEMS, and Nanotechnology, (22 July 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.483568

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