Radio-frequency capacitance spectroscopy of metallic nanoparticles.

Recent years have seen great progress in our understanding of the electronic properties of nanomaterials in which at least one dimension measures less than 100 nm. However, contacting true nanometer scale materials such as individual molecules or nanoparticles remains a challenge as even state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques such as electron-beam lithography have a resolution of a few nm at best. Here we present a fabrication and measurement technique that allows high sensitivity and high bandwidth readout of discrete quantum states of metallic nanoparticles which does not require nm resolution or precision. This is achieved by coupling the nanoparticles to resonant electrical circuits and measurement of the phase of a reflected radio-frequency signal. This requires only a single tunnel contact to the nanoparticles thus simplifying device fabrication and improving yield and reliability. The technique is demonstrated by measurements on 2.7 nm thiol coated gold nanoparticles which are shown to be in excellent quantitative agreement with theory.The work in the UK has been supported by EPSRC. The work in Japan has been partially supported by Elements Strategy Initiative to Form a Core Research Center, funded by The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); the Collaborative Research Project of Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology; the Collaborative Research Program of the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University; and the BK21 plus Program through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea