Optical spectroscopy of molecular electronic devices

分子电子学是将分子作为有源元件应用于微电子电路中以实现新功能的一门新兴学科。用分子电子器件增强或取代硅基微电子的可能性具有巨大的影响，可能包括更低的成本、更低的功耗、化学传感和非易失性存储器等新功能，以及与光的不寻常相互作用，包括显示技术和太阳能转换。提出的研究旨在了解分子结构如何通过分子组分控制电子的传输，这是分子电子学最基本的过程。特别是，我们建议研究通过分子轨道的“共振”电子传输，这种现象不仅可以实现广泛的分子电路，而且还提供了一种利用化学中大量分子结构合理设计新电子元件的方法。该方法利用了电化学中几个已建立的概念，但应用于非常薄（~ 10nm）的固态分子层的新环境。这些概念包括共振电子转移、活化氧化还原反应和离子“双层”电极筛选。光谱学是提出的努力的关键要素，因为它提供了分子结构的诊断探针，适用于成品，工作的分子电子器件。高度可重复的分子装置设计和执行“实时”光谱的能力都是NINT/U所独有的。为分子电子学的研究提供了一个良好的平台和“工具箱”。

Molecular Electronics is a new field in which molecules are incorporated as active elements in microelectronic circuits, in order to realize new functions. The possibility of augmenting or replacing silicon-based microelectronics with molecular electronic devices has enormous consequences, potentially including lower cost, lower power consumption, new functions such as chemical sensing and non-volatile memory, and unusual interactions with light, including display technology and solar energy conversion. The proposed research seeks to understand how molecular structure controls the transport of electrons through molecular components, the most fundamental process of Molecular Electronics. In particular, we propose to investigate "resonant" electron transport through molecular orbitals, a phenomenon which not only enables extensive molecular circuits but also provides a means to rationally design new electronic components using the huge number of molecular structures available from chemistry. The approach exploits several established concepts from electrochemistry, but applied in a new environment of a very thin (~10 nm) solid state molecular layer. These concepts include resonant electron transfer, activated redox reactions, and electrode screening by ionic "double layers". Optical spectroscopy is a key element of the proposed effort, since it provides a diagnostic probe of molecular structure which is applicable to finished, working molecular electronic devices. Both the highly reproducible molecular device design and the ability to perform "live" spectroscopy are unique to the NINT/U.Alberta laboratory, and provide an excellent platform and "tool box" for investigating molecular electronics.