Researchers succeed in light-controlled molecule s
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(Nanowerk News) Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Konstanz are working on storing and processing information on the level of single molecules to create the smallest possible components that will combine autonomously to form a circuit. As recently reported in the academic journal Advanced Science ("Light-Induced Switching of Tunable Single-Molecule Junctions" , the researchers can switch on the current flow through a single molecule for the first time with the help of light.
Dr. Artur Erbe, physicist at the HZDR, is convinced that in the future molecular electronics will open the door for novel and increasingly smaller – while also more energy efficient - components or sensors: “Single molecules are currently the smallest imaginable components capable of being integrated into a processor.” Scientists have yet to succeed in tailoring a molecule so that it can conduct an electrical current and that this current can be selectively turned on and off like an electrical switch.
http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=39800.php
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