Ultra-Small Devices

Ultra-Small Devices for Energy-Efficient Electronics :

Ultra small devices for efficient energy

A team of scientists at the Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork and the National University of Singapore devices are designed and manufactured ultra low power small electronics. By figuring out how molecules behave in these devices, a tenfold increase in the efficiency of switching is obtained by changing only one carbon atom. These devices could provide new ways to combat overheating in mobile phones and laptops, and could also help in electrical stimulation of tissue repair for wound healing.
Creating penetration of molecular devices with highly controllable electrical properties appear in the Nature Nanotechnology. Dr. Damien Thompson at the Tyndall National Institute, UCC and a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore led by Professor Chris Nijhuis designed and created devices which are based on molecules that act as valves or electrical diode rectifiers .
Dr. Thompson explains, "These molecules are very useful because they allow current to flow through them into the ignition and block the flow of current when turned off. Results of the study show that the simple addition of an additional carbon atom is sufficient to improve device performance by more than a factor of ten. follow up a lot of new ideas based on these results, and we hope ultimately to create a number of new components for electronic devices. " Level atom-Dr. Thompson Computer simulations showed how molecules with an odd number of carbon atoms go straight molecules with an even number of carbon atoms. This allows them to pack more closely together. Closely packed assembly of these molecules were formed on surfaces of the metal electrodes in Singapore Nijhuis group and proved remarkably free of defects. These high quality devices can suppress the leakage currents and thus operate efficiently and reliably. The device can be switched on and off cleanly only on the basis of the load and the shape of the molecules, as well as in regulating the biological nanomachines photosynthesis, cell division and tissue growth.

Tyndall Electronics Theory Group leader Prof. Jim Greer explains "The modern electronic devices such as phones and tablets in manufacturing today rely on tiny switches that are close molecular sizes This provides new challenges for electronics but opens interesting opportunities to combine the molecular properties that are used to. working advantage. Dr. Thompson is an exciting new way to exploit the molecular design for new forms of performing information processing. "A key feature to promote nano-scale electronics will be the ability using molecules as rectifiers and switches. By demonstrating the rational design of molecules with a grinding day. Extensive and highly reproducible ON / OFF ratio, the study provides a key step in the creation of device components ultrasmall technologically feasible Fifty thousand rectifier molecules strung end to end would fit across the diameter of a human hair. Advances in the scientific computing, synthesis and characterization Now we can understand and control the material on the scale of atoms and molecules.


The study was funded by the Irish side by a Science Foundation Ireland Investigator award from Dr. Thompson. Computer simulations were performed on clusters of computer Science Foundation-supported Mexico in Tyndall and the Irish Centre for High End Computing. Combined Experiments and simulations show for the first time that improvements in molecule orientation and packing minutes trigger changes in van der Waals forces which are sufficiently large to dramatically improve the performance of electronic devices. Dr. Thompson explains "These van der Waals forces are the weakest of all the intermolecular forces and only become significant when large areas added thus far, the majority of research has ultrasmall devices used stronger. " Pi-pi "interactions of molecules stick together, and ignored the much weaker, but everywhere, van der Waals interactions. This study shows how van der Waals, effects that are present in every conceivable molecular scale device , can be adjusted to optimize the performance of the device. "

The devices are based on molecules which act as diodes allowing current to pass through them when forward biased and operates to block current when the polarization is reversed. Molecular Rectifiers first proposed in 1974, and advances in scientific computing have enabled molecular-level design to be used during the past decade to develop new organic materials that provide better electrical responses. However, the relative importance of interactions between molecules, molecule nature of the metal contact and the influence of environmental effects have been interrogated. This new research shows that dramatic improvements in device performance can be achieved by controlling the van-der-Walls forces which the molecules pack together. By simply changing the number of carbon atoms per one device provides significantly more stable and reproducible exhibiting an order of magnitude in ON / OFF. The research results demonstrate the feasibility of device performance boost by creating tight seals between molecules.

"The development of molecular scale electronics depends heavily on simulation and high performance computing," said Professor Greer. "The continued support of research infrastructure in Ireland allows scientific advances leading to greater interaction with the world leaders in the industry, and positions Ireland to be a key provider of research impact."