• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, October 31, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Reliable molecular toggle switch developed

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 29, 2017
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: (Photo: KIT)

Nanotechnology constantly allows for new records in miniaturization. Reduction of the dimension of electronic components, however, has physical limits that will be reached soon. Novel materials and components are required. This is where molecular electronics comes in. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now succeeded in developing a molecular toggle switch that does not only remain in the position selected, but can also be flipped as often as desired. This is reported in Nature Communications.

"By replacing conventional silicon-based components, e.g. a switch, by individual molecules, future electronic circuits might be integrated on a space smaller by a factor of 100," Lukas Gerhard of KIT's Institute of Nanotechnology says.

The basic structure of the electromechanical switch consists of a few carbon atoms. Three sulfur atoms form the feet that are fixed to a smooth gold surface. The toggle lever ends in a nitrile group with a nitrogen atom. It is flipped when voltage is applied. The resulting electric field exerts a force on the charge of the nitrogen atom. In this way, contact to a second electrode (here, the gold tip of a scanning tunneling microscope) is established.

The complete switch measures not more than a nanometer. For comparison: The smallest structures used in semiconductor technology are 10 nm in dimension. "Molecular electronics, hence, would be big progress," Gerhard says.

It is not only the size of the switch that is remarkable, but the fact that it works reliably and foreseeably. This means that its operation always leads to a switching state. The contact is either open or closed. So far, implementation of this principle has often failed due to insufficient controllability of electric contacting of individual molecules. For the first time, KIT researchers have now succeeded in opening and closing such a contact between a molecule and a gold tip electrically and mechanically as often as desired, without plastic deformation being caused.

In the opinion of Gerhard, progress in synthetic chemistry has resulted in the possibility of making available a large variety of billions of molecular building blocks of identical atomic design. "Their interconnection, however, requires them to be touched without being damaged." Such a gentle method has now be found and Gerhard considers this to be the decisive novelty.

###

This publication is the result of close cooperation between experimental physicists and chemists of KIT's Institute of Nanotechnology and of the University of Basel and theoretical physicists of the University of Konstanz.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) pools its three core tasks of research, higher education, and innovation in a mission. With about 9,300 employees and 25,000 students, KIT is one of the big institutions of research and higher education in natural sciences and engineering in Europe.

KIT – The Research University in the Helmholtz Association

Media Contact

Monika Landgraf
[email protected]
49-721-608-47414
@KITKarlsruhe

http://www.kit.edu/index.php

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Global Research Uncovers the Role of Bacteria in Shaping Lake and Reservoir Health

October 31, 2025

Comparing Health Worker and Non-Worker Education on Contraception

October 31, 2025

Creating Human Kidney Organoids for Porcine Transplants

October 31, 2025

Proteome Atlas Unveils Diabetic Retinopathy Risks

October 31, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1294 shares
    Share 517 Tweet 323
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    312 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    202 shares
    Share 81 Tweet 51
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

BIOENGINEER.ORG

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Global Research Uncovers the Role of Bacteria in Shaping Lake and Reservoir Health

Comparing Health Worker and Non-Worker Education on Contraception

Creating Human Kidney Organoids for Porcine Transplants

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.