Molecular electronics for Next generation military signal processing, data storage, and communication devices

As the complexity and volume of global digital data grow, so too does the need for more capable and compact means of processing and storing data. At present, traditional electronic devices based on semiconductor materials face severe challenges, not only technical and technological limitations but also key theoretical limitations.

Molecular electronics, also called moletronics, is the branch of nanotechnology where the molecular building blocks are used for the fabrication of electronic components. It is an interdisciplinary area that spans physics, chemistry, and materials science. The smaller size of the electronic components decreases power consumption while increasing the sensitivity (and sometimes performance) of the device.

These have a wide range of applications in the work areas of chemistry, physics, electronics and nanoelectronics, technology, artificial intelligence, and medical equipment. It seems very unlikely that molecular electronics will ever replace silicon-based electronics, but there are good reasons to believe that it can complement it by providing, for instance, novel functionalities out of the scope of traditional solid state devices.

With the rapid development of nanotechnology and in-depth research, researchers have made progress in the theory and practice of molecular electronic devices in recent years.

Data storage and processing is central to Department of Defense (DoD) activities across areas including platform design and optimization, sensing, mission planning and logistics, and healthcare. While our current computational architectures remain essential, new complementary approaches are needed to provide advanced capabilities as the complexity and volume of data grows, says DARPA.

DARPA has launched  Molecular Informatics program with aim to discover and define future opportunities for molecules in  information storage and processing. Molecular Informatics program,  seeks a new paradigm for data storage, retrieval, and processing. Instead of relying on the binary digital logic of computers based on the Von Neumann architecture, Molecular Informatics aims to investigate and exploit the wide range of structural characteristics and properties of molecules to encode and manipulate data.