Integrating Single-Molecule Electronic Devices

In recent years incredible strides have been made in the development of molecular electronic systems that possess unique functionality. By combining chemical design with physical modeling and electrical characterization techniques it has become clear that molecules are capable of a wide range of impressive electronic functions that extend far beyond the development of standard devices such as transistors and diodes. An array of electromechanical, electrochemical, thermoelectric, and quantum devices now provide promise for memory devices, sensors, and multi-state logic units which could yield new paradigms for in-memory computing, various post von Neumann architectures, or for chemical and biological sensing systems. But, despite these possibilities, one of the major issues that arose in the nascent days of molecular electronics still lingers and limits its ultimate utility. That issue is integration. Despite a wide range of unique devices, and novel chemical and physical properties, it has remained difficult to integrate these materials into a larger-scale system in a way that is reliable, reproducible, and eventually manufacturable. In this talk we will discuss emerging approaches aimed at moving molecular-scale electronic systems from the lab and into applications. To integrate top-down lithographic approaches with bottom-up self-assembly methods we utilize novel micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) that allow robust single-molecule electrical measurements at the chip-level; the programmability imparted by DNA nanotechnology to create novel nanoscale electrical and lithographic systems; and finally the utility of carbon nanotubes for making secure and robust contact to a single-molecule to allow facile integration with traditional photolithographic processes.