Molecular Electronics Technology

The field of molecular electronics seeks to use individual molecules to perform functions in electronic circuitry now performed by semiconductor devices. Individual molecules are hundreds of times smaller than the smallest features conceivably attainable by semiconductor technology. Because it is the area taken up by each electronic element that matters, electronic devices constructed from molecules will be hundreds of times smaller than their semiconductor-based counterparts. Moreover, individual molecules are easily made exactly the same by the billions and trillions. The dramatic reduction in size, and the sheer enormity of numbers in manufacture, are the principal benefits offered by the field of molecular electronics.

At the heart of the semiconductor industry is the semiconductor switch. Because semiconductor switches can be manufactured at very small scales, and in combination can be made to perform all desired computational functions, the semiconductor switch has become the fundamental device in all of modern electronics. California Molecular Electronics Corporation's Chiropticene® Switch is a switchable device that goes beyond the semiconductor switch in size reduction. This switch is a single molecule that exhibits classical switching properties.

Read the CNN.com article, “Short film delivers nanotech for the masses” from
May 4, 2006.

Chiropticene® Molecular Switch Design

C = Carbon Atom
S = Sulfur Atom
N = Nitrogen Atom
R = Proprietary Substituents
Ch = Chromophoric Groups
A = Anion (variable structure)

The research and development effort at California Molecular Electronics Corporation has resulted in the preparation of a novel Chiropticene molecular switch design. Although its detailed composition remains proprietary, the perfected molecule (illustrated above) incorporates the following key features required for a viable, practical molecular switch:

• Spiro Carbon Atom:  The two ring systems, shown in shadow boxes, are forced to lie in mutually perpendicular planes yielding enhanced optical rotation and high signal strength.

• Chromophore Activation:  Prudent selection of the chromophoric groups (Ch) provides optical tuning to match laser input signals.

• Cation Control:  By molecular engineering the proprietary substituents (R), we can determine the stability of the cation (+) and thus the speed of the switch.

• Optical Carbon Atom:  The carbon atom that changes chirality (C*) is not directly involved in the switch mechanism thereby affording optical stability.