NER: Single-Molecule Wires and Electronic Devices Based on Dimetal Complexes Containing Metal-Metal bonds

本研究的目的是设计、制造和测试分子线和单分子电子器件，特别是二极管、光激活开关和晶体管、含金属-金属键的基双金属无机配合物。与迄今为止在分子器件中使用的有机分子相比，这些金属配合物提供了更好的电子传输性质的控制和可调性。方法是将这些配合物结合到纳米光刻形成的各种二端或三端纳米结中，并测量它们的电子输运特性，如整流和放大。教育部分包括一个共同开发和共同教授的课程，以培养学生在2005年春季分子电子学，以及一个为期一周的夏季研讨会仪器技术。当前硅基电子器件的小型化正接近物理和经济限制所设定的极限。需要替代技术，如分子电子学，来克服这一限制并提高计算速度。在这里，分子被用作传统的电子设备。本文提出的研究旨在探索利用二金属无机配合物作为分子电子学元件的可行性。如果成功，所提出的研究将为设计分子电子器件开辟新的途径，并将为分子的电子传递提供新的见解。拟议研究的跨学科性质将为学生提供与来自不同领域的研究人员交流的机会。研究中提出的纳米尺度表征和制造将为学生提供使用纳米科学和技术中常用的最先进设备的实践经验。这将更好地为他们在这个令人兴奋的研究领域的职业生涯做好准备。

The objectives of this research are to design, fabricate, and test molecular wires, and singlemoleculeelectronic devices, in particular diodes, light-activated switches and transistors, basedon dimetal inorganic complexes containing metal-metal bonds. These metal complexes providebetter control and tunability of electron transport properties as compared to organic moleculesused in molecular devices to date. The approach is to incorporate these complexes into varioustwo- or three-terminal nano-junctions formed by nanolithography, and to measure their electrontransport characteristics, such as rectification and amplification. The educational componentincludes a jointly developed and co-taught course to train students in molecular electronicsduring Spring 2005, as well as a one week summer workshop on instrumentation techniques.The miniaturization of current silicon-based electronic devices is approaching a limit set byphysical and economical constraints. Alternative technologies, such as molecular electronics, arerequired to overcome this limit and increase computation speed. Here, molecules are utilized asconventional electronic devices. The research proposed herein explores the feasibility of usingdimetal inorganic complexes as components in molecular electronics. If successful, the proposedresearch will open new avenues for designing molecular electronic devices and will provideinsight into the electron transport of molecules. The interdisciplinary nature of the proposedresearch will provide students with opportunities to communicate with researchers from differentfields. The nanoscale characterization and fabrication proposed in the research will give studentshands-on experience in using state-of-the-art equipment commonly used in nanoscience andtechnology. This will better prepare them for careers in this exciting research area.