Array-Based Architecture for Molecular Electronics

Advances in our basic scientific understanding at the molecular and atomic level place us on the verge engineering designer structures at the molecular scale. This introduces exciting opportunities to design computing systems at what may be the ultimate limits on device size. At this scale, we are faced with new challenges and a new cost structure which motivate different computing architectures than we found efficient and appropriate in conventional VLSI. We sketch a basic architecture for molecular electronics based on carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires which can provide universal logic functionality with all logic and signal restoration operating at the molecular scale. The key properties of this architecture are its minimalism, defect tolerance, and compatibility with emerging, bottom-up, nanoscale fabrication techniques. The architecture further supports micro-to-nanoscale interfacing for communication with conventional integrated circuits and bootstrap loading.