Communications of the ACM
Advances in Molecular Electronics: Lights On--Molecule On
A molecule functions as an electrical switch when a beam of light switches a single molecule to a closed state (red atoms).
Credit: HZDR/Pfefferkorn
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Konstanz have developed a method for switching on the current flow through a single molecule with the help of light, a breakthrough they say could result in being able to store and process information at the molecular level to create the smallest possible components that will combine autonomously to form a circuit.
The new method involves a particular diarylethene compound approximately three nanometers in size, which rotates very little when a point in its structure opens. The compound also possesses two nanowires that can be used as contacts. The diarylethene is an insulator when open and becomes a conductor when closed, so the compound exhibits a different physical behavior that demonstrates reproducible measurements.
"We developed a nanotechnology at the HZDR that relies on extremely thin tips made of very few gold atoms," says HZDR researcher Artur Erbe. "We stretch the switchable diarylethene compound between them." When a beam of light hits the molecule, it switches from its open to its closed state, resulting in a flowing current.
"We have also characterized the molecular switching mechanism in extremely high detail, which is why I believe that we have succeeded in making an important step toward a genuine molecular electronic component," Erbe says.
From Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
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