Golden goal

Gold wires just one atom thick and connected to a single molecule are the goal for a team of European researchers. They are laying the foundations for faster, smaller computers based on molecular-scale structures.

They have already broken new ground by obtaining direct images of the orbital reorganisation that takes place when a gold atom and a pentacene molecule form a complex on a surface. The team is led by scientists at IBM’s Zurich Research Lab and includes Liverpool University’s Prof Mats Persson, with others from Finland and Sweden.

‘There will come a time when electronic material will become so small that we will need to control the structure down to the atomic scale and the chemical bonds between single molecules and atoms,’ said Persson. ‘The atomic scale control of single-molecule chemistry in this experiment opens up new perspectives in the emerging field of molecular electronics, particularly in connecting organic molecules with electronic components. This could be important in creating electronics for future computers which are faster, smaller and have less power consumption.’