CIF: SMALL: Toward a Molecular Computer: Scaling up Programmable single-molecule Junctions Based on DNA self-assembly

分子电子学领域的目标是利用单分子作为制造电子电路的主要构件。这将使计算机和许多电子设备实现前所未有的小型化，提高数据传输速度、存储效率和信号处理能力。虽然已经创造了一些单分子和碳纳米管晶体管，但还没有制造出复杂和功能强大的电路。制造单分子电子学的一个基本挑战是以可靠、可重现和可大规模生产的方式制造具有纳米间隙的金属电极结。该项目的目标是找到以DNA为基础的折纸纳米结构作为模板制造这种连接的方法。与光刻技术相比，基于DNA的自组装有可能显著降低电子设备的制造成本，同时减少环境足迹。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供跨学科的研究培训，从计算机科学、生物化学、材料科学到与工业和学术职业相关的纳米制造。通过“外展和大学预科计划”，来自少数族裔背景的高中生将参加实验室研究，并在暑期几个月参加课程，以熟悉计算机科学、工程和纳米技术领域。该奖项将使用自组装DNA纳米结构作为模板，将各向异性纳米颗粒组织成合理设计的结构，并在纳米尺度上精确控制位置和取向。这项工作将为制备可扩展和低成本的金属电极提供一个新的平台，该平台可用于：a)并行集成多个单分子组分；b)以可靠和可重复性的方式研究各种分子的电子转移。这些研究和发现是向制造用于计算机小型化的新一代集成电路分子电路迈出的重要一步。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The field of molecular electronics aims to exploit single-molecules as the main building blocks for creating electronic circuitry. This would allow the unprecedented miniaturization of computers and many electronics with enhanced data transfer speed, storage efficacy, and signal processing. While some single molecule- and carbon nanotube-transistors have been created, no complex and functional electrical circuits have been fabricated. One fundamental challenge in the fabrication of single-molecule electronics is to create a metal electrode junction with nanometer gaps in a reliable, reproducible, and mass-producible manner. The goal of this project is to discover ways to fabricate such junctions using DNA-based origami nanostructures as templates. DNA based self-assembly has the potential to dramatically decrease the manufacturing cost of electronic devices compared with lithography techniques, while reducing the environmental footprint. This project will provide interdisciplinary research training for graduate and undergraduate students from computer science, biochemistry, material science, to nanofabrication, which is relevant for industrial and academic careers. Through "Outreach and Pre-college Programs" high school students from minority backgrounds will participate in laboratory research and take classes during the summer months to become acquainted with the fields of computer science, engineering and nanotechnology. This award will use self-assembled DNA nanostructures as templates to organize anisotropic nanoparticles into rationally-designed architectures with precisely controlled position and orientation at the nanometer scale. This work will provide a novel platform for fabricating scalable and cost-effective metallic electrodes which could be used to: a) integrate multiple single-molecule components in parallel, and b) study electron transferring of various molecules in a reliable and reproducible manner. The research and findings constitute an important step towards the fabrication of the new generation of integrated molecular circuits for miniaturization of computers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.