U.S. scientists say they've set the stage for the "evolutionary link" between today's microelectronics and future devices made from organic molecules.
National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers said they have demonstrated a single layer of organic molecules can be assembled on the same kind of substrate that is used in conventional microchips.
The scientists said the ability to use a silicon crystal substrate that is compatible with the industry-standard manufacturing technology of complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS, paves the way for hybrid CMOS-molecular device circuitry — the necessary precursor to a totally molecular technology.
The NIST team fabricated two molecular electronic devices, each with a different length of carbon chain populating the monolayer. Both devices successfully resisted electrical flow with the one possessing longer chains having the greater resistance as expected, the researchers said. A control device lacking the monolayer showed less resistance, proving the other two units functioned as non-linear resistors.
The scientists said their next step is to fabricate a CMOS-molecular hybrid circuit to show molecular electronic components can work in harmony with current microelectronics technologies.
The findings appear in the April 2 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
