Nanoelectronics and Scanning Tunneling Engineering

Carter (1983) noted that projected trends in microelectronic fabrication would intersect the molecular-nanometer (“nano”-10-9; nanometer-10-9 meter) level around 2020 AD. Why not simply charge ahead on this rather straightforward path to molecular scale devices and nanotechnology---which shows no sign of significantly slowing down and which is also extremely well funded and profitable---and then branch out to more sophisticated types of molecular electronics when new “industrial strength” infrastructures would then make it simpler, easier, and much more efficient to take such innovative steps? Considering the rate of progress this decade alone, will current approaches to molecular devices be rendered obsolete because they are evolving too slowly relative to integrated circuit microelectronics and nanoelectronics? (See Yamamura, Fujisawa and Namba, 1984; Haddon and Lamola, 1985; Bandyopadhyay, 1986; Gray and Campisi, 1986; Howard, Jackel and Skocpol, 1985; Kratschmer et al., 1985; Whitehead, Isaacson and Wolfe, 1985.) Given the enormous lead times and costs for research, development, production learning curves, and gaining substantial market share, does the development of molecular electronic devices for computers make sense? Guided by such questions, we will suggest some hybrid possibilities below.