Measurement of discrete energy-level spectra in individual chemically-synthesized gold nanoparticles

Abstract

We form single-electron transistors from individual chemically-synthesized gold nanoparticles, 5-15 nm in diameter, with monolayers of organic molecules serving as tunnel barriers. These devices allow us to measure the discrete electronic energy levels of individual gold nanoparticles that are, by virtue of chemical synthesis, well-defined in their composition, size and shape. We show that the nanoparticles are non-magnetic and have spectra in good accord with random-matrix-theory predictions taking into account strong spin-orbit coupling.

15 pages, 5 figures; corrected typos, added journal reference

References in corpus (2)

• Electron correlations in metal nanoparticles with spin-orbit scattering
• g-Factors and Discrete Energy Level Velocities in Nanoparticles

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