Fabrication and electrical properties of a Cu-tetracyanoquinodimethane nanowire array in a porous anodic alumina template

Nanotechnology. 2008 Jan 9;19(1):015305. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/19/01/015305. Epub 2007 Nov 29.

Abstract

A nanowire array of metal-organic complex copper-tetracyanoquinodimethane (CuTCNQ) was obtained by depositing a layer of copper in the bottom of anodic alumina template channels during a vapor-induced reaction method. SEM observation showed that the channel diameters of anodic alumina membranes prepared under 40 V and 200 V are about 60 nm and 200 nm, respectively, and CuTCNQ nanowire arrays were synthesized in these channels. Nanodevice prototypes with electrical switching characteristics based on a CuTCNQ nanowire array were fabricated, whose reproducible electrical switching and memory effects were observed. The on-off ratio for switching reaches 10(4). The potential applications in information storage devices are also discussed.