Numerical Simulation of Single-Electron Tunneling in Random Arrays of Small Tunnel Junctions Formed by Percolation of Conductive Nanoparticles

Yoshinao MIZUGAKI  Hiroshi SHIMADA  Ayumi HIRANO-IWATA  Fumihiko HIROSE  

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Electronics   Vol.E101-C   No.10   pp.836-839
Publication Date: 2018/10/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1353
DOI: 10.1587/transele.E101.C.836
Type of Manuscript: BRIEF PAPER
Category: Microwaves, Millimeter-Waves
Keyword: 
single-electron effects,  percolation,  circuit simulation,  Monte-Carlo simulation,  

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Summary: 
We numerically simulated electrical properties, i.e., the resistance and Coulomb blockade threshold, of randomly-placed conductive nanoparticles. In simulation, tunnel junctions were assumed to be formed between neighboring particle-particle and particle-electrode connections. On a plane of triangle 100×100 grids, three electrodes, the drain, source, and gate, were defined. After random placements of conductive particles, the connection between the drain and source electrodes were evaluated with keeping the gate electrode disconnected. The resistance was obtained by use of a SPICE-like simulator, whereas the Coulomb blockade threshold was determined from the current-voltage characteristics simulated using a Monte-Carlo simulator. Strong linear correlation between the resistance and threshold voltage was confirmed, which agreed with results for uniform one-dimensional arrays.