Molecular electronics bridge for carbon nanotubes

January 22, 2006 | Source: KurzweilAI

Columbia University scientists have developed a unique way to connect the ends of carbon nanotubes by forming robust molecular bridges between them. The Columbia team was able to combine the best qualities of carbon nanotubes and organic molecules in a single electronic switch.

This new method of wiring molecules into the gaps of single-walled carbon nanotubes employs oxidative cutting — a lithographic technique that makes each cut-end of the nanotube more prone to molecular bonding. These new methods could one day revolutionize the size and scale of computer hardware by allowing engineers to design circuits at nanoscale limits.

Attaching molecular wires to single-walled nanotubes involves cutting a tube using nanolithography combined with a localized oxidation process that leaves a nanotube with two ends capped with carbon-based acid groups and separated by a molecule-sized gap. In that tiny space, a molecule can be chemically joined with each end to form a robust nanotube/molecule complex, which operates as a nanoscale transistor.

Reference: Jan. 20, 2006 Science

Source: Columbia University news release