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Single atom switch on silicon: results and prospects

U.J. Quaade*, K. Stokbro, and F. Grey

Mikroelektronik Centret
Technical University of Denmark
Bldg. 345e
DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
email: ulrich@mic.dtu.dk

This is an abstract for a talk to be given at the Fifth Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology. There will be a link from here to the full article when it is available on the web.

A first step towards practical atom-scale electronics would be a single-atom binary switch that is silicon based, can be made in large numbers, and is thermally robust. We are investigating the function of a single-hydrogen binary switch on H-passivated Si(100) and find that it meets these requirements. Obvious applications of the switch include an atom-scale register. Here, we discuss both the creation of a register as well as the addressing of single bits.

The mechanism of devices depend on the interaction between neighbouring switches. The interaction comes from the repulsion of the negatively charged dangling bonds in two neighbouring switches. We show how it is in principle possible to create both AND and OR logical operations using interacting switches, and describe the current status of putting these ideas into practice.

*Corresponding Address:
Ulrich J. Quaade, Technical University of Denmark, Bldg. 345e, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark, ph: +45-4525-5736, fax: +45-4525-7762, email: ulrich@mic.dtu.dk, http://www.mic.dtu.dk/mic/sta ff/uq.htm

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