Giving electrons a ride: nanomechanical electron shuttles
  Nanomechanical shuttles transferring small groups of electrons or even individual electrons from one electrode to another offer a novel approach to the problem of controlled charge transport. Here, we report the fabrication of shuttle-junctions consisting of a 20 nm diameter gold nanoparticle embedded within the gap between two gold electrodes. The nanoparticle is attached to the electrodes through a monolayer of flexible organic molecules which play the role of springs so that when a sufficient voltage bias is applied, then nanoparticle starts to oscillate transferring electrons from one electrode to the other. Current-voltage characteristics for the fabricated devices have been measured and compared with the results of our computer simulations. 
A.V. Moskalenko, S.N.Gordeev, O.F.Koentjoro, P.R. Raithby, R.W.French,   F.Marken and S.E.Savel'ev