Single-molecule diode is the ultimate in miniaturisation for electronic devices
Researchers in the US have developed a new technique to create a single-molecule diode said to perform 50 times better than previous designs.
The team at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York is the first to develop a single-molecule diode that may have real-world technological applications for nanoscale devices.
“Our new approach created a single-molecule diode that has a high rectification and a high ‘on’ current,” said Latha Venkataraman, associate professor of applied physics at Columbia Engineering.
“Constructing a device where the active elements are only a single molecule has long been a tantalising dream in nanoscience,” she added in a statement.
The idea of creating a single-molecule diode was suggested in 1974 by Arieh Aviram and Mark Ratner, who theorised that a molecule could act as a rectifier, a one-way conductor of electric current.
Since then, researchers have been exploring the charge-transport properties of molecules.
They have shown that single-molecules attached to metal electrodes (single-molecule junctions) can be made to act as a variety of circuit elements, including resistors, switches, transistors and diodes.
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