Electrochemical Signal Amplification by Gap Electrodes and Control of Gap Distances

We report on electrochemical signal amplification using gap electrodes based on the redox cycling between gap electrodes. The distance between electrodes was controlled from $2{\mu}m$ to a few hundreds of nanometer by chemical deposition of reduced Au ion on the pre-defined electrodes. Enhanced redox current of ferri/ferrocyanide was obtained by redox cycling between the two working electrodes. The faradaic current is amplified about a thousand times in this redox system. Since the signal amplification is due to the shortened diffusion length between the two electrodes, the narrower the nanogap was, the better detection limit, calibration sensitivity, and dynamic range. The experimental results were discussed on the basis of the cyclic voltammetry (CV), atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements.