Conductance Oscillations in a Graphene/Nanocluster Hybrid Material: Toward Large-Area Single-Electron Devices

Large assemblies of self-organized aluminum nanoclusters embedded in an oxide layer are formed on graphene templates and used to build tunnel-junction devices. Unexpectedly, single-electron-transport behavior with well-defined Coulomb oscillations is observed for a record junction area of up to 100 µm² containing millions of metal islands. Such graphene-metal nanocluster hybrid materials offer new prospects for single-electron electronics.