Ehab El Sawy, PhD Candidate.

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

CHEMISTRY 603

PHYSICAL SECTION

SPEAKER:                Ehab El Sawy, PhD Candidate.

DATE:                        Thursday, February 2, 2012.

TIME:                         12:30 pm.

PLACE:                     SB 324.

TITLE:                        A New Era in Electronics: Molecular-scale devices

ABSTRACT:

A key step forward in the information age was the development of electronics science and technology. The first electronic component based on semiconducting solid-state materials was invented in 1947 and the ever increasing demand for fast and efficient electronic devices has led to many new developments in electronic component design and fabrication. However, conventional methods and materials are reaching their theoretical limitations. In a well known study by A. Aviram and M. A. Ratner ¹ in 1974, it was suggested that single molecules could play a role in electronic circuitry, e.g., working as rectifiers. However, the lack of experimental techniques capable of studying the electronic properties of single molecules has held this field back. Nevertheless, rapid progress has been made in the last decade due to the invention of atomic scale imaging techniques, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)² and conductive probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM)³. In this talk, various methods now available for the characterisation of molecular electronics materials, such as STM, CP-AFM, and mechanically controllable break junctions, will be described.  The validity of using single molecules as wires and as memory components will also be examined by discussing several specific examples.

1. A. Aviram, M.A. Ratner, Chem. Phys. Lett., 29, 277, 1974
2. N. P. Guisinger, N. L. Yoder, and M. C. Hersam, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102, 8838, 2005
3. X. D. Cui, et al., Science, 294, 571, 2001