Research

The McCreery Group fabricates and investigates solid state electronic devices which include molecules as active components. We seek to exploit the wide variety of available molecular structures to achieve new electronic functions in logic, memory, chemical sensing and photonics. The effort involves many areas of chemistry, physics and materials science, including electrochemistry, microfabrication, vacuum deposition, optical spectroscopy, electronic testing and molecular modelling. We anticipate commerical devices based on combinations of conventional semiconductors with molecular electronic components, to result in a new class of "hybrid" electronics with new functions, low cost and low power consumption. For a published summary of the research approach and potential applications, click here.

General objectives of the research include the following:

• Rational design of functional molecular electronic devices
• New microelectronic functions, notably chemical and biological sensing and nonvolatile, high density molecular memory
• In-situ spectroscopy of "live" molecular electronic devices, including interactions of light with electronic junctions relevant to photonics

For more on electron transport in molecules click here

For more on molecular memory and spectroscopy click here

For more on the world’s first commercial molecular electronic device, click here.