Quantum-dot Cellular Automata = Molecular Electronics

from the really-different-computers dept.
Senior Associate Alison Chaiken (alison) writes "In a recent Science magazine article, Notre Dame electrical engineer Craig S. Lent discusses the possibility of molecular electronics circuits based on the "Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA)" paradigm. (This article, as well as a critical response, should be available with free registration.) The primary thrust of the article is to argue that attempts to implement current-switching molecular electronics that mirror the behavior of silicon circuits are misguided, and that molecular electronics will require a different type of architecture altogether." Read More for additional analysis. Alison continues: "Lent argues that this architecture will be based on charge storage on molecular quantum dots, which are transition-metal ions incorporated in metallic structures. The work of leading researchers in this field (T.P. Fehlner and coworkers) is discussed, and a few references are given. It sounds like the QCA devices are essentially single-electron transistors that could operate at room temperature due to the extra charge stabilization provided by the molecular frameworks. "