Single-Electron Transistor Based on Cobalt Oxide

In this paper, we propose and implement a single-electron transistor (SET) based on cobalt oxide for the first time. The SETs were fabricated through nanofabrication process compatible with the CMOS technology. A cobalt oxide (Co1-yO) on the surface of the source (S) and drain (D) Co electrodes is utilized to act as a quantum dot (QD). The diameter of QD is calculated to be 2.3 nm. The interface between Co1-yO and Co thin films (S/D electrodes) is used as tunneling junctions. The SET based on CoO exhibits typical single electron transport characteristics. Owing to the high Coulomb blockade energy (~180 meV), the Coulomb blockade regions still remain at room temperature (300 K), revealing the nanometer scale CoO-based SETs have great potential to operate at room temperature.