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Science 12 August 1988:
Vol. 241. no. 4867, pp. 817 - 820
DOI: 10.1126/science.241.4867.817
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Articles

A Molecular Shift Register Based on Electron Transfer

J. J. Hopfield 1, José Nelson Onuchic 2, and David N. Beratan 3

1 Divisions of Chemistry and Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, and AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
2 Instituto de Física e Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, 13560, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
3 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109

An electronic shift-register memory at the molecular level is described. The memory elements are based on a chain of electron-transfer molecules and the information is shifted by photoinduced electron-transfer reactions. This device integrates designed electronic molecules onto a very large scale integrated (silicon microelectronic) substrate, providing an example of a "molecular electronic device" that could actually be made. The design requirements for such a device and possible synthetic strategies are discussed. Devices along these lines should have lower energy usage and enhanced storage density.

Submitted on March 25, 1988
Accepted on June 13, 1988


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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S. Lloyd (1993)
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Molecular Electronics: Observation of Molecular Rectification.
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Picosecond Optical Switching Based on Biphotonic Excitation of an Electron Donor-Acceptor-Donor Molecule.
M. P. O'Neil, M. P. Niemczyk, W. A. Svec, D. Gosztola, G. L. Gaines III, and M. R. Wasielewski (1992)
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Mimicking Photosynthesis.
D. GUST and T. A. MOORE (1989)
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)