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Overview of Wolkow Group Research Plan
Our goal is to enable fabrication of molecular devices, primarily hybrid
structures made from organic molecules on the surface of silicon. This
approach combines the powerful and versatile properties of silicon, which
has ideal properties for electronic devices, with organic molecules that
have subtle and highly discriminating properties that offer a wide range
of function. We believe that the enormous challenges facing molecules-as-devices
can most likely be overcome if a hybrid silicon-organic molecule strategy
is adopted. In particular, the connection of a molecular device to the
outside world can be largely simplified when it is mounted on a silicon
surface.
To approach these goals, we develop and use tools which allow imaging
and manipulation of individual atoms and molecules on silicon. The key
is the scanning-tunneling microscope (STM), which permits the study and
engineering of concepts relevant to molecular devices. In addition to
STMs and a wide range of complementary material characterization tools,
we develop and use theroricetical methods for modeling properties of hybrid
molecule-silicon nanostructures..
To build working molecular devices, we focus on understanding the fundamental
processes that influence their construction and operation. There is much
to learn before molecular devices become practical. In particular, we
seek to understand the nature and influence of each atom and chemical
bond in a device structure, as well as the influence on molecular structure
upon adsorption. To permit information to move in and out of the device,
the electrical transport properties of tailored organic-silicon must be
characterized. In addition, practical devices will require methods that
are enormously faster than atom-by-atom assembly, so methods and processes
that allow the rapid self-organization of molecular structures on silicon
will be investigated. Functional devices also require an understanding
of transduction mechanisms that provide an electrical signal from the
change in a molecular device caused by, for example, the detection of
a target molecule in a molecular sensing device, or by the absorption
or emission of photons. All these phenomena must be clearly understood,
as they are the “design rules” that are required to allow
the reliable and predictable manufacture of practical molecular devices;
all these areas of research are of keen interest to our group.
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