| Abstract
| - Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) form highly ordered, stable dielectrics on conductive surfaces.Being able to attach larger-area contacts in a MIM (metal−insulator-metal) diode, their electrical propertiescan be determined. In this paper, the electrical conduction through thiolate SAMs of different alkyl chainlengths formed on gold surfaces were studied and discussed. The influence of the headgroup with respectto the surface quality and prevention of short circuits is investigated. Phenoxy terminated alkanethiols werefound to form high quality SAMs with perfect insulating properties. Synthesis of the required terminallysubstituted long chain thiols have been developed. The I(V) characteristics of MIM structures formed withthese SAMs are measured and simulated according to theoretical tunneling models for electrical conductivitythrough thin organic layers. SAM based electronic devices will become especially important for futurenanoscale applications, where they can serve as insulators, gate dielectric of FETs, resistors, and capacitorstructures.
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