NER/SNB: Electronic Devices from Viral and Cytoskeletal Templates

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Proposal No: 0508338Title: Electronic Devices from Viral and Cytoskeletal TemplatesInst: University of VirginiaPI: Michael ReedThis research will employ well characterized, self-organizing biological systems as templates to fabricate active nanoscale electronic devices, including integrated electrical interconnects between the nanoscale devices and contact pads. The project applies biological processes and molecular genetic techniques to a practical engineering problem: the fabrication of a molecular-scale electronic device, with precise dimensions and predictable and reproducible performance, in a way that can be scaled to billions or trillions of integrated devices, at a low cost. The geometrically increasing number and performance of transistors on integrated circuits, driven by scaling of devices to smaller dimensions, can only be continued with new technologies that sidestep fundamental limits imposed by current manufacturing techniques relying on photographic pattern transfer. The proposed new technology harnesses self-assembly techniques, evolved by nature, to fabricate electronic switches. Also, methods will be developed to use cytoskeletal templates to fabricate conducting microtubules, useful for contacting this and other molecular electronic devices. This work addresses a vexing problem in interfacing the world of molecular devices, at the nanometer scale, to the micron and millimeter scales necessary in practical systems. Demonstration of the techniques developed in this research will significantly advance our ability to leverage biological systems in the design and development of more complex, self-organizing electronic systems.