Room-temperature characterization of gold self-assembled single electron tunneling devices

[Display omitted] ► A single-electron-tunneling device was produced using pre-made gold nanoparticle. ► The nanodevice was fabricated by lithography with self-assembly technique. ► The nanodevice demonstrates Coulomb staircases at room temperature. Single-electron tunneling devices based on self-assembled gold nanoparticles have been fabricated. Two main transport mechanisms were found to interpret the conductive behaviors of the devices. One is attributed to the electron emission, and the other is depended on the bias tunneling with asymmetrical tunnel barriers. The resemblant Coulomb Blockade response was measured at room temperature. The charging energy is estimated to be much larger than the thermal energy. The Coulomb Island sizes calculated from the experimental data are consistent with the size range of the gold nanoparticles used in the self-assembly fabrication.