SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MACROMOLECULES FOR MONO-MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
Abstract
As the miniaturization trend of the semiconductor technology continues, the size of circuit components will reach the molecular scale, requiring conceptually new device structures and integrated circuit architectures. We envision monomolecular electronics (MME), where intramolecular circuits are formed by interconnecting molecular functional building blocks using molecular wires without metal pads. One challenge this vision faces is the lack of suitable approaches to construct macromolecular integrated circuits. The demonstrated methods to build archetypical molecular structures for this purpose such as graphene nanoribbons, nanoribbon junctions, and covalently bonded network of conjugated molecular blocks all have their limitations. In order to overcome these limitations, we propose a preliminary investigation to establish a set of basic methods to assemble molecular building blocks into macromolecules with a certain level of complexity. We use the synthesis of a particular macromolecule as the platform for this research. The macromolecule can be described as graphene doped with boron-nitrogen atom pairs (B-N) in a periodic array. In principle, this macromolecule can be synthesized from the molecular building block borabenzene-pyridine or its derivatives, but our analysis shows the synthesis is a formidable challenge. We therefore plan to make staged efforts towards this aim. In the stage 1 effort, we study the molecular assembly and coupling behaviors by simply synthesizing pure graphene from biphenyl, which is structurally similar to borabenzene-pyridine. Stage 2 aims at formation of B-N pair-doped graphene without B-N pair order. Stage 3 will leverage the knowledge gained in earlier stages to synthesize our target macromolecule. While this project focuses on the stage 1 and 2 efforts, we will resolve some critical components of the stage 3 effort, paving the road for a future project. The syntheses will be pursued in a chemical vapor deposition setup, with a view towards scalable fabrication, and also in an ultrahigh vacuum environment, leveraging in situ characterization to reveal mechanisms. Materials synthesized in both environments will be thoroughly characterized for structural and physical properties. This project is in the realm of nanoscale computing devices and systems, on the material level. Potential applications of this basic research could impact surveillance, communications and networking, electronic warfare, navigation, and electronics in general with an emphasis on reducing the system cost, weight, and size.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512661
Entities
People
- Gong Gu
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Tennessee