By Ashwini Sakharkar 3 Sep, 2024
Collected at: https://www.techexplorist.com/unique-single-molecule-transistor-faster-greener-electronics/89075/
In a groundbreaking development in electronics, scientists at the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, an autonomous institute, have achieved a significant feat – creating a one-of-a-kind single-molecule transistor controlled by mechanical forces rather than conventional electrical signals.
This innovative approach opens up new possibilities for advancements in quantum information processing, ultra-compact electronics, and cutting-edge sensing applications.
The unique ability to gate single-molecule junctions using simple mechanical means has the potential to revolutionize the field of electronics and pave the way for exciting breakthroughs in technology.
The researchers ingeniously used a piezoelectric stack to meticulously break a macroscopic metal wire, creating a sub-nanometer gap precisely sized for a single molecule like ferrocene. This groundbreaking technique, known as mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ), holds immense potential for revolutionizing molecular electronics.
Ferrocene, a molecule structured with an iron atom sandwiched between two cyclopentadienyl (Cp) rings, exhibits remarkable changes in its electrical behavior when mechanically manipulated. The implications of this discovery are immense as it demonstrates the potential of mechanical gating in controlling electron transport at the molecular level.
In an exciting breakthrough, Dr. Atindra Nath Pal, Biswajit Pabi, and their research team discovered that the orientation of ferrocene molecules between silver electrodes significantly influences the transistor’s performance. This groundbreaking finding underscores the vital role of molecular geometry in transistor design, with the potential to unlock unprecedented advancements in electronic devices.
In further research, gold electrodes paired with ferrocene at room temperature revealed an astonishingly low resistance, measured at nearly five times the quantum of resistance (approximately 12.9 kΩ). This resistance is significantly lower than the typical resistance of a molecular junction (around 1 MΩ), pointing to the feasibility of creating low-power molecular devices.
Such devices could revolutionize fields such as low-power molecular devices, quantum information processing, and sensing applications.
Journal reference:
- Biswajit Pabi, Jakub Sebesta, Richard Korytár, Oren Tal, Atindra Nath Pal. Structural regulation of mechanical gating in molecular junctions. Nano Letter, 2024; DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00043
- Biswajit Pabi, Štepán Marek, Adwitiya Pal, Puja Kumari, Soumya Jyoti Ray, Arunabha Thakur, Richard Korytár, Atindra Nath Pal. Resonant transport in a highly conducting single molecular junction via metal-metal covalent bond. Nanoscale, 2024; DOI: 10.1039/D3NR02585C
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