Multilayer edge molecular electronics devices: a review

Abstract

Molecular electronics devices have potential to miniaturize the computational devices down to few nm and can be highly versatile. The realization of any molecular electronics device critically depends on the methods of connecting functional molecule(s) to electrical leads. This review mainly focuses on the recently developed versatile multilayer edge molecular electronics device (MEMED) approach. To produce MEMEDs molecular conduction channels are bridged across the ultrathin insulator, along the exposed vertical edges of a tunnel junction. This paper explains how the MEMED approach effectively addresses the major roadblocks encountered in the realization of practical molecular electronics devices. MEMED can be produced by widely available microfabrication tools. The tunnel junction used in a MEMED can have any combination of metallic electrodes. Additionally, the tunnel junction's insulator thickness can be precisely tailored to utilize a vast variety of molecules as a device element. A MEMED approach enables an unprecedented number of control experiments to reveal the true behavior of molecular conduction channels. The tunnel junction used in a MEMED can be characterized before establishing molecular conduction channels. The MEMED approach makes it straightforward to reverse the molecule's effect and then retrieve characteristic of the parent device. This design offers a unique opportunity to transform highly matured magnetic tunnel junctions into futuristic molecular spintronics devices, a potential candidate device for quantum computation. Besides the application in computational devices, MEMED design can also be used for biosensing by enabling the interaction between MEMED's active molecular channels with the target bio-analytes.