Stable Universal 1‐ and 2‐Input Single‐Molecule Logic Gates

Abstract

Controllable single‐molecule logic operations will enable development of reliable ultra‐minimalistic circuit elements for high‐density computing but require stable currents from multiple orthogonal inputs in molecular junctions. Utilizing the two unique adjacent conductive molecular orbitals (MOs) of gated Au/S‐(CH2)3‐Fc‐(CH2)9‐S/Au (Fc = ferrocene) single‐electron transistors (≈2 nm), a stable single‐electron logic calculator (SELC) is presented, which allows real‐time modulation of output current as a function of orthogonal input bias (Vb) and gate (Vg) voltages. Reliable and low‐voltage (ǀVbǀ ≤ 80 mV, ǀVgǀ ≤ 2 V) operations of the SELC depend upon the unambiguous association of current resonances with energy shifts of the MOs (which show an invariable, small energy separation of ≈100 meV) in response to the changes of voltages, which is confirmed by electron‐transport calculations. Stable multi‐logic operations based on the SELC modulated current conversions between the two resonances and Coulomb blockade regimes are demonstrated via the implementation of all universal 1‐input (YES/NOT/PASS_1/PASS_0) and 2‐input (AND/XOR/OR/NAND/NOR/INT/XNOR) logic gates.

Molecular Electronics: Creating and Bridging Molecular Junctions and Promoting Its Commercialization

“…Electromigrated metallic junctions may suffer from instabilities at room temperature, owing to the migration of the metal atoms along the electrode surfaces at temperatures above ≈200 K. [107] Therefore, the electromigration process is usually performed in vacuum at cryogenic temperatures. [108] By contrast, carbon materials such as graphene, [109,110] and singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), [111,112] are good alternative electrode materials that can be separated into nanogaps by using a process similar to electromigration, which is often termed electroburning. For example, Prins et al performed feedback-controlled electroburning to create nanogap electrodes based on few-layer graphene at room temperature, [109] as shown in Figure 4C.…”

First-principles study of single-molecule-structure determination of dithienoborepin isomers

“…Aviram 和 Ratner 在 1974 年首次研究分子整流器件,其目的之一是实现分子尺 度的电子器件,从而推动电子器件进一步的小型化 [1] .经过半个世纪的研究和发展, 分子器件的实验和理论研究都取得了重要发现.在研究分子结的电子输运行为时, 科学家们发现了负微分电阻 [2][3][4][5][6] , 整流 [7,8] , 开关 [9,10] , 场效应管 [11,12] 等特性.与以 往的微电子器件不同的是,电子在单分子结不同能级之间传输时,由于相互干涉, 其电导会被增强或抑制,这就是单分子结电输运过程中的量子干涉效应 [13,14] .因此, 量子干涉对分子结的电子输运性质有明显的影响.以往的研究表明,锚接基团与有 机分子的连接位 [15][16][17] , 掺杂原子的取代位置 [18,19] 以及分子结构 [20] 都是影响量 子干涉效应的因素. 此外, 量子干涉效应还可以通过机械力 [21,22] 、化学环境 [23,24] 和电化学 [25][26][27] 等外界刺激 [28][29][30] 来调节.因此,利用量子干涉效应调制有机单分子 的电荷输运成为分子电子学研究的热点.在分子的不同结构位置引入基团进行钝 化,使电子在分子轨道传输过程中发生干涉,从而改变电子在结中的透射率 [31] .通 过改变分子构型来控制分子结的电导率,还可以在分子水平上制造诸如分子整流 器 [32][33][34] , 分子开关 [35,36] , 分子晶体管 [37,38] 和单分子逻辑门 [39] 等电子器件. 自然界中很多分子存在同分异构体.…”

Decoding the mechanical conductance switching behaviors of dipyridyl molecular junctions

“…A molecular junction refers to a system in which one or several molecules are confined between two nano-electrodes. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Due to the nanoscale dimension of the molecules and the confinement of electrodes, molecular junctions often exhibit intriguing properties which can be applied in rectifiers, [11][12][13][14] switches, [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] transistors, [22][23][24] memory devices, [25][26][27][28] sensors, [27][28][29][30] and logic gates. 8 Therefore, in the last two decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the design and study of molecular junctions.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Due to the nanoscale dimension of the molecules and the confinement of electrodes, molecular junctions often exhibit intriguing properties which can be applied in rectifiers, [11][12][13][14] switches, [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] transistors, [22][23][24] memory devices, [25][26][27][28] sensors, [27][28][29][30] and logic gates. 8 Therefore, in the last two decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the design and study of molecular junctions. Generally, due to the different interactions between molecules and electrodes, molecular junctions show various electron-transport properties during their formation.…”