Gains in Organic Microelectronics

Future micro and nano-electronic devices may someday be made mostly from complex organic molecules instead of semi-conductor compounds as they are today. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been having success with the beginning stages of this technology as they demonstrate that a single layer of organic molecules can be assembled onto similar substrates as used in today's microchips. The researchers built simple resistors with a chain of carbon molecules connected by sulfur atoms deposited into 10nM wells in a silicon substrate. By using different lengths in the carbon chains, differing resistances were observed using spectroscopic techniques for measurement.

Research into organic molecule-based electronics may someday enable much denser and cheaper electronic components. “The ultimate in miniaturization is the molecule,” explains NIST’s Curt Richter. “The hope is that a single molecule will one day be able to act as an electrical component such as a diode or a resistor with the ultimate goal being shrinking computer chips.”