Nervous energy: Dutch researchers boost plastic electronics technology with fabrication of the first molecular diodes

摘要

THE EMERGING technology of plastic electronic circuits has been boosted by the construction of the first molecular diodes. The diodes, which have high production yields, are just one molecule thick and while similar structures appear in nature they have always been beyond the capabilities of any Man-made machine or process - until now. Scientists hope molecular electronics will enable them to build a working circuit in a single layer of molecules and embed it in a host material. They appear in nature as self-organised structures for conducting an electrical charge, as in mammals' nerve systems and plant photosynthesis.