This proposal addresses an avenue toward self-assembled collections of molecular electronic devices, via the synthesis, experimental characterization and theoretical study of zeolitic materials as hosts for single-electron transistors. The open zeolitic framework is synthesized to possess single-electron transistor functionality at lattice sites. Individual addressability is obtained through the conducting framework of the zeolitic material: some chains of the framework carry current, others fulfill the role of voltage gates. The individual chains comprising the zeolitic structure are in turn connected to external, macroscopic, metallic electrodes by flexible and functionalized biopolymers such as DNA wires. This cross-disciplinary endeavor also addresses quantum-computational aspects of the zeolite transistor arrays and lithographic two-dimensional analogs, and comprises theoretical and experimental studies of the collective charge transport phenomena that surface in arrays of interconnected nanoscale or molecular devices. %%% Molecular electronics promises to shrink electronic devices to the nanoscale, by utilizing properties of chemical species at the molecular level. This project aims to adapt zeolitic materials to host vast arrays of molecular-scale, single-electron transistors. The transistors are formed during the crystal growth, as part of the crystal lattice, and thus vast numbers of near-perfect, near-identical devices may be produced at once. The problem of accessing each of the electrical locations on the crystal/chip is solved through the inherent conducting chains of the zeolitic material. The result is a self-assembled and chemically contacted dense and vast array of single-electron transistors, with implications for future quantum-computational architectures, nanoelectronics and memory devices. Educationally, graduate, undergraduate and two-year technical college students will be introduced to new interdisciplinary concepts with potential future impact in a variety of disciplines.
This proposal was submitted in response to the solicitation "Nanoscale Science and Engineering" (NSF 00-119). The award is jointly supported through this initiative within the Ceramics and Electronic Materials programs of the Division of Materials Research in MPS.
