Schematic representation of molecules anchored to a SiO2/Si substrate (grey). Thanks to the controlled structure of the molecules, a stable molecular architecture forms that acts as a bridge for the electrons travelling between the graphene electrodes, These graphene leads are then contacted by conventional metallic (Au) pads (yellow). The molecular structure thus built is reminiscent of the architecture a roman arch.
Electronics built from molecules could open up new possibilities in the miniaturization of circuits in the future. Empa researchers, together with partners from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Israel, and the UK, succeeded in solving a crucial detail in the realization of such circuit elements: A molecular bridge for electrons that remains mechanically and electronically stable at room temperature. The results have just been published in the journal "Nature Nanotechnology". Molecular electronics, in which circuit elements are composed of molecules, could make it possible in the future to build electronic devices at the nanoscale with novel functions. The components must be precisely constructed and assembled at the atomic level. Researchers from Empa's lab "Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces", headed by Michel Calame, are working together with partners from the Universities of Basel, and Bern, the Swiss Nanoscience Institute, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Lancaster University and the University of Warwick in the UK, as well as the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, to integrate molecular bulding blocks with graphene electrodes. (see illustration).
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