Probe and Control Opto-Electronic Transport in Single Molecular Junction Devices

非技术：摩尔定律以预测计算性能的提高而闻名，集成电路中的晶体管数量每两年翻一番。随着晶体管的尺寸接近极限，需要新的概念来实现性能突破。分子电子学旨在开发能够补充并最终取代当前半导体技术的器件。分子运输结具有独特的优势，它具有混合的固态-分子性质和新颖的界面性质。分子和电极的各种可能组合也允许调整传输特性。电门控电荷传输是电子学革命的关键，但目前还没有机制可以有效地门控分子传输结。该项目将通过系统地探索与电力运输相关的因素来解决这一差距。这将提高对这些新型器件的基本理解，并使新的门控机制能够以前所未有的控制水平控制电传输。这将允许将特定功能集成到分子连接中，从而实现实际应用。这些包括生物光子学和光电子器件，如单分子水平的太阳能电池和led。该项目将培养跨越物理、化学和工程的跨学科纳米技术的本科生和研究生。在纳米电子学的入门课程将更新，包括从该项目的新材料。这些学院将招收不同科学、种族、国籍背景的理工科学生，通过该项目培养下一代科学家和工程师。学生还可以参加相关的大学课程，如暑期本科生研究计划（SURP）， UGA-Louis Stokes少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）计划，以及纳米技术和生物医学REU网站。技术：该项目旨在开发使能技术，允许我们最近开发和专利的MTBJ系统与光学集成，通过三个任务探测和控制偏置单分子MTBJ的光电输运。pi将通过将光学设计集成到我们的专利SPM mtbj中来开发一个测量平台，该平台允许分子通过连接基团共价连接到两个电极上，从而能够控制分子-电极耦合并对齐共轭分子的轨道，使其远离电极。然后，他们将进行系统的研究，测量在辐射能量HOMO到LUMO和表面等离子激元激发下MTBJs中的载流子的光电导，并确定分子-电极接触和分子构象对载流子注入势垒和光子诱导电子传导特性的影响。最后，他们将展示一种可行的单分子场效应拉曼散射（FERS）器件，一种双门控单分子MTBJ器件，在等离子体门控中添加了第二个电化学门控。该项目将通过探索当今分子电子学中最重要的相互作用（如光子-电子、分子-电极相互作用）的起源，建立一种革命性的新方法，使用双门控来有效地控制MTBJs器件中的电传输。所提出的研究不仅提供了基础知识，而且提供了开发新应用所需的技能，对推进单分子器件的研究是必不可少的。它还将导致对单分子器件中电子转移和光学性质之间相互作用的新见解，这对许多领域至关重要，例如光合作用和生物光子学。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical:Moore’s Law is famously known for projecting an increase in computing performance, with the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubling every two years. As the size of transistors approaches the ultimate limits, new concepts are needed for performance breakthroughs. Molecular electronics aims at developing devices that will complement and eventually supersede current semiconductor technologies. Molecular transport junctions have unique advantages, due to their hybrid solid state-molecular nature and novel interface properties. The variety of possible combinations of molecules and electrodes also permits tailoring the transport properties. Electrically gating charge transport was key to the electronics revolution, but no mechanism currently exists to effectively gate molecular transport junctions. This project will address that gap through a systematic probe of the factors related to electric transport. This will improve the fundamental understanding of these novel devices and enable a new gating mechanism to control electric transport with an unprecedented level of control. This will allow for integration of specific functions into molecular junctions that will enable practical applications. These include bio-photonics and optoelectronic device such as solar cells and LEDs at the single molecule level. This project will train for undergraduate and graduate students in interdisciplinary nanotechnologies that span physics, chemistry and engineering. An introductory course in nanoelectronics will be updated to include the new materials from the project. The PIs will recruit students of different scientific, ethnic, and nationality backgrounds to study science and engineering to foster our next generation scientists and engineers through this project. Students can also participate in related university programs, such as Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), UGA-Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority participation (LSAMP) Program, and the Nanotechnology and Biomedicine REU Site.Technical:This project aims to develop enabling technologies that allow for integration of our recently developed and patented MTBJ systems with optics to probe and control opto-electronic transport in biased single molecule MTBJs through three tasks. The PIs will develop a measuring platform by integrating optical designs into our patented SPM MTBJs that allow the molecule to connect covalently to two electrodes with linker groups, which enables the controlling of the molecule-electrode coupling and aligning the orbitals of conjugated molecules away from the electrodes. Then, they will conduct a systematic study to measure photoconductance where charge carriers in the MTBJs are excited by radiation energy HOMO to LUMO and by the surface plasmons and determine the effect of molecule-electrode contact and molecular conformation on the carrier injection barrier and photon-induced electronic conduction properties. Finally, they will demonstrate a viable single molecule field-effect Raman scattering (FERS) device, a double gated single molecule MTBJ device, with a second electrochemical gating added to the plasma gating. This project will establish a revolutionary new approach using double gating to effectively gate the electrical transport in MTBJs device by exploring the origins of the most important interactions, such as photon-electron, molecule-electrode interactions, being studied in molecular electronics today. The proposed studies are imperative to advancing research in single molecule devices by providing not only the basic knowledge but also necessary skills to develop novel applications. It will also lead to new insights into the interplay between electron transfer and optical properties in single molecule devices, which is critical to many areas, such as photosynthesis and bio-photonics.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.