Our objective in the proposed exploratory research program is to develop: i. Nanoscale molecular electronic diodes based on self-assembled modified guanosine semiconductor immobilized on a GaN semiconductor substrate. This effort includes optimization of the material characteristics to improve device performance by increasing the length of a single molecular chain of guanosine. It will enable large-scale fabrication of nanoscale molecular electronic device using conventional photolithography techniques. ii. Field-effect transistor or photo-detectors on GaN with enhanced efficiency in the ultraviolet visible region. We will also extend this device functionality to examine electrochemical properties of double-stranded DNA by altering DNA base-pairing and incorporating synthetic nucleotides to DNA. Intellectual merit and Broader Impact: Among biomolecules, DNA has a fundamental role in biological processes. The combination of molecular biology (for engineering DNA with the desired functional and/or self-assembling properties) and microelectronic technology (for device fabrication) thus becomes the tool to realize a new class of nanoelectronic element. Since this is a vastly interdisciplinary project, we intend to combine and build upon our strength in prior achievements of development and characterization of GaN based materials/devices and tailoring oligonucleotide molecules along with our collaborator's established capability of conjugating functionalized polymers to biomolecules at Michigan Molecular Institute. This team will include a student, who will be exposed to all phases of this multifaceted project. At UNT there is currently an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program that will be enhanced by this proposed research. The PI will offer a focused course on soft condensed matter physics at UNT based on the success of the proposed work.
