Gábor Mészáros et al 2007 Nanotechnology 18 424004 doi:10.1088/0957-4484/18/42/424004
Gábor Mészáros1,2,3, Chen Li1, Ilya Pobelov1 and Thomas Wandlowski1,3,4
Show affiliationsCurrent measurements in a wide dynamic range from low picoamperes up to a few milliamperes are usually carried by implementing logarithmic current-to-voltage converter circuits. Conductance studies in nanoscale metal | molecule | metal junctions require measurements with a high dynamic range, good accuracy and reasonable speed simultaneously. In this work we propose two novel circuit solutions which comply with these conditions: one is based on a high-accuracy, fine-tunable logarithmic current-to-voltage converter. Another circuit implements a double-output (or multiple-output) linear current-to-voltage converter, for which the problem of range-switching has been circumvented. Both circuits were applied in constructing a low-current bipotentiostat dedicated to the electrochemical formation of molecular-scale gaps, and a novel scanning tunnelling microscope preamplifier stage for current–distance spectroscopy studies.
81.07.-b Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization
Issue 42 (24 October 2007)
Received 18 April 2007, in final form 8 July 2007
Published 13 September 2007
Gábor Mészáros et al 2007 Nanotechnology 18 424004
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