Electrical measurements in nanotechnology using single electron bipolar avalanche transistors

Based on a simple model, we estimate that a nonoscopic device consisting of a low-conductivity material, such as biological tissue, may have resistances higher than 100 GΩ. Such a device must be characterized with currents smaller than 1pA. Small currents can be measured by counting single electrons. In this paper, we estimate some physical limits related to such current measurements. Then we propose a system for electrical measurements of high resistance nano-devices based on the single electron bipolar avalanche transistor (SEBAT). The system functions as a source-measure-unit, at room temperature, at the currents from an atto-ampere to pico-amperes, and with high resolution.