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Organic and molecular electronics

Organic and molecular electronics

With organic and molecular electronics, a data processing based on various types of nano-objects (molecules, biomolecules, nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene,…) is emerging.

This means developing:

  • The synthesis of new molecules and new nano-objects
  • Methods of chemical functionalization of nano-objects (graphene, NPs, nanotubes, C60) for the formation of hybrid materials with new or improved properties
  • Assembly methods of nano-objects on surfaces
  • Nanofabrication techniques to connect individual nano-objects
  • Electronic transport measurements
  • New operating strategies of the electronic properties for the implementation of new functions
  • Theoretical efforts to model the studied devices and to propose new structures with original properties.

In the case illustrated here, one single molecule is connected to two electrodes spaced by 1 to 3 nm, the objectives are to master and understand the metal-molecule interface and the properties of the so positioned molecule. On this principle, single molecule LEDs have recently been studied: “Electroluminescence of a single polythiophene molecular wire suspended between the tip and the surface of a scanning tunneling microscope”, © Guillaume Schull – IPCMS – CNRS / Université de Strasbourg.

Three experimental topics in organic electronics are carried by the NIMBE/LICSEN team :

  • Carbon nanotubes are one example of elementary objects used in molecular electronics. The manufacture of devices and circuits involving carbon nanotubes requires control of their positioning on a surface and their interconnection. The self assembly of nanotubes on a surface locally functionalized chemically is a technique that allows the manufacture of elaborated circuits.
  • Printed electronics where grafting processes via organic molecules allows maunfacturing conductive circuits at very low cost (RFID chips, complex circuits, sub-micron conductive tracks…)
  • The organic spintronics, where it was shown that the magnetic decoupling of metal thin layers can be achieved with a single organic monolayer.

Finally, aging studies by irradiaton of organic components (MADIR team of CIMAP, Caen) complete the research in this area.

Cross formed of two carbon nanotubes deposited on silica. The gray bands (150 nm width and height less than 1 nm) are “molecular Scotch tape” allowing the ordering of the nanotubes.

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