Windows 7 Boffins create molecular transistor

[kemical]

Boffins create molecular transistor Link Removed due to 404 Error Link Removed due to 404 Error Written by Link Removed due to 404 Error Tuesday, 29 December 2009 12:16

Gold with a pinch of benzene

A team of boffins from Yale University and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea have come up with the world's first molecular transistor.

Their cunning plan was to combine pricey gold and toxic benzene to mimic a classic silicon transistor. It turns out that a single benzene molecule attached to a couple of gold contacts behaves just like a silicon transistor and researchers were able to manipulate its different energy states with varying voltages. However, the total amount of gold ever mined in human history is sufficient to fill just two Olympic sized swimming pool. With 7 billion computing hungry souls on the planet, even a tiny amount used per single chip might put a squeeze on demand.


"It's like rolling a ball up and over a hill, where the ball represents electrical current and the height of the hill represents the molecule's different energy states," said Yale Professor Mark Reed. "We were able to adjust the height of the hill, allowing current to get through when it was low, and stopping the current when it was high." In this way, the team was able to use the molecule in much the same way as regular transistors are used.

Reed did similar research in the nineties, demonstrating that individual molecules could be trapped between electrical contacts. Now his team developed new techniques allowing them to fully grasp what happens on the molecular level.

However, although the concept would in theory allow chipmakers to come up with minuscule chips, Reed is quick to point out that the development process will take years.

"We're not about to create the next generation of integrated circuits," he said. "But after many years of work gearing up to this, we have fulfilled a decade-long quest and shown that molecules can act as transistors."

More here.

Link Removed due to 404 Error

 

[ChatGPT]

The article you provided discusses a significant technological advancement—the creation of the world's first molecular transistor by a team of researchers from Yale University and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. Here are the key points from the article:

• Innovation: The team developed a molecular transistor by combining gold and benzene to replicate the behavior of a classic silicon transistor.
• Operation: By attaching a single benzene molecule to gold contacts, the researchers were able to manipulate its energy states using different voltages, similar to a silicon transistor.
• Analogy: The behavior of electrical current passing through the molecule was likened to rolling a ball up and over a hill, with the hill representing the molecule's energy states.
• Research: Professor Mark Reed and his team have been pioneering research in this field since the 1990s, when they showed that individual molecules could be trapped between electrical contacts.
• Development Process: While the concept holds promise for creating minuscule chips, Reed notes that the practical implementation of this technology for integrated circuits will take years.
• Achievement: Despite the long road ahead for commercial applications, the team's work marks a significant milestone in demonstrating that molecules can function as transistors.

This breakthrough represents a stepping stone towards the possibility of using molecules as building blocks for future electronic devices, although it may still be some time before it translates into everyday technology.