IBM researchers look beyond silicon technology

Scanning electron microscope image of a metallic bridge, used for establishing contact to an individual molecule. Atomic-sized tips, serving as electrodes, are created by stretching and finally breaking this "nano" bridge. The method is called the mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ). The sketch at the top shows the switching molecule "caught" between the electrodes by closing the bridge gradually with picometer accuracy until one molecule "reaches" both electrodes. The switching molecule is BP-DT, a specially designed organic molecule with dimensions of typically 1.5 nm.