TOWARDS THE VERY SMALLEST ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS: TRANSDUCTION, SIGNAL PROCESSING, AND DIGITAL LOGIC IN MOLECULAR FUSED-RINGS VIA MESH RING-CURRENTS
A system implementing molecular electronics is disclosed. The system includes a fused-ring molecule and a molecular orbital structure capable of supporting an induced or sustained ring current. The ring currents can be induced by a time-varying magnetic field, a circularly poralized short duration laser pulse, or other ringcurrent simulating phenomena. At least one aspect of the molecule affecting the ring current can be changed by one or more input stimulus signals. At least one aspect of the ring currents induces an associated output effect responsive to changes in the ring currents. At least one of the ring currents is induced by one or more one time-varying magnetic field, and the mutual interaction among ring currents is used to create electron flows of a mesh-topology electrical circuit.
1 . A system implementing molecular electronics, the system comprising:
a molecule comprising a fused-ring cyclic structure and a molecular orbital structure capable of supporting a plurality of ring currents;
at least one topological feature of the molecule that can be changed by an input stimulus;
at least one topological feature of the molecule that can be changed by an associated input stimulus; and
at least one aspect of the ring currents that induces an associated output effect responsive to changes in the ring currents,
wherein at least one ring current is induced by at least one time-varying magnetic field, and
wherein the mutual interaction among ring currents in a fused ring molecule is used to create the electron flows of a mesh-topology electrical circuit.
2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule comprises a photochromic component.
3 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule comprises a pH indicator component.
4 . The system of claim 1 wherein the input stimulus comprises a photon.
5 . The system of claim 4 wherein the absorbed photon causes a photo-induced molecular rearrangement.
6 . The system of claim 4 wherein a ring current within the molecule is turned on and off by photo-induced molecular rearrangement.
7 . The system of claim 1 wherein the input stimulus comprises a chemical stimulus.
8 . The system of claim 1 wherein the input stimulus comprises a pH change.
9 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule comprises a pi-electron cloud.
10 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule comprises an extended pi-orbital.
11 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule comprises a conjugated pi-system.
12 . The system of claim 1 wherein ring currents are induced by a circularly polarized laser pulse.
13 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule further comprises a bridge.
14 . The system of claim 1 wherein ring currents are induced by at least two spatially-orthogonal time-varying magnetic fields.
15 . The system of claim 1 wherein at least one time-varying magnetic field is employed as a power source to induce the ring current.
16 . The system of claim 1 wherein at least one ring current flows within an essentially geometric plane essentially parallel to an essentially geometric plane defined by the location of the atom members of a ring of bonds.
17 . The system of claim 1 wherein changes in one ring current cause changes in another ring current.
18 . The system of claim 16 wherein changes in one ring current occurs in a plane differing from the plane of another ring current.
19 . The system of claim 1 wherein a ring current is externally measured.
20 . The system of claim 1 wherein the molecule comprises molecular strain.