NIST serves up sandwich for molecular switches

e14news — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 00:19:18 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14news on 10/7/2021 12:19:18 AM

A new 'sandwich recipe' developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) could pave the way for ever-smaller electronic components such as switches.

The researchers have devised a simple method of sandwiching organic molecules between silicon and metal to overcome one of the fundamental obstacles in creating switches from individual molecules.

Previously the concept has been confined to the drawing boards, partly due to the fragile nature of organic molecules when attaching them to electrical contacts.

However, the NIST researchers covered a surface with a non-stick material before condensing gold on top of it, allowing the metal to cool to an ultra-smooth surface, then laminating the gold and removing it before adding the organic molecules.

"The machine allows us to press the three layers together so the organic molecules contact both the silicon and gold but without smashing or otherwise degrading them," commented Mariona Coll Bau, a materials scientist at NIST.

Recently the institute developed a highly sensitive, low-cost technique for measuring light in the near-infrared range.