Jul 12, 2018 | |
The future of electronics is chemical(Nanowerk News) We can’t cram any more processing power into silicon-based computer chips. |
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But a paper published in Nature ("Metallic nanoparticle contacts for high-yield, ambient-stable molecular-monolayer devices") reveals how we can make electronic devices 10 times smaller, and use molecules to build electronic circuits instead. | |
We’re reaching the limits of what we can do with conventional silicon semiconductors. In order for electronic components to continue getting smaller we need a new approach. | |
Molecular electronics, which aims to use molecules to build electronic devices, could be the answer. | |
But until now, scientists haven’t been able to make a stable device platform for these molecules to sit inside which could reliably connect with the molecules, exploit their ability to respond to a current, and be easily mass-produced. | |
An international team of researchers, including Macquarie University’s Associate Professor Koushik Venkatesan, have developed a proof of concept device which they say addresses all these issues. | |
The team exploited the fact that metallic nanoparticles can provide reliable electrical contacts to individual molecules, allowing them to transport charge through a circuit. | |
Their next goal will be to test the platform with different molecules that have different functions to see if they can make it work. | |
If successful, their technique could lead to molecular compounds being integrated into solid-state devices that could be scaled down to the size of a single molecule. | |
“Imagine a miniaturised transistor made up of several single molecules,” says Koushik. | |
“That’s the promise of molecular electronics—devices that are smaller, faster, have more memory and are cheaper to make.” | |
Koushik is confident their research will open up the bottleneck for this molecular-based technology to move forward. | |
“Molecular electronics hasn’t previously lived up to expectations, but we’ve seen a renaissance of the field in the last five to six years,” he says. | |
“The device platform is the missing link. We hope work like ours will accelerate this type of technology. | |
“The electronic buildings blocks of the future will be molecules.” | |
“This fundamental research is extremely exciting as it points the way to practically ‘wiring molecules’ by exploiting the fact that Koushik and his colleagues have made a metallic nanoparticle provide a reliable electrical contact to individual molecules,” says Professor Alison Rodger, Head of the Department of Molecular Sciences at Macquarie University. | |
“As a molecular scientist it illustrates to me the importance of understanding the design and function of molecules for the future realisation of a molecular electronics technology. | |
“It is amazing to think that this work leads the way to true molecular-sized electronic circuits.” |
Source: Macquarie University | |
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