title: Molecular-Scale Electronics: From Concept to Function.
abstract: Creating functional electrical circuits using individual or ensemble molecules, often termed as "molecular-scale electronics", not only meets the increasing technical demands of the miniaturization of traditional Si-based electronic devices, but also provides an ideal window of exploring the intrinsic properties of materials at the molecular level. This Review covers the major advances with the most general applicability and emphasizes new insights into the development of efficient platform methodologies for building reliable molecular electronic devices with desired functionalities through the combination of programmed bottom-up self-assembly and sophisticated top-down device fabrication. First, we summarize a number of different approaches of forming molecular-scale junctions and discuss various experimental techniques for examining these nanoscale circuits in details. We then give a full introduction of characterization techniques and theoretical simulations for molecular electronics. Third, we highlight the major contributions and new concepts of integrating molecular functionalities into electrical circuits. Finally, we provide a critical discussion of limitations and main challenges that still exist for the development of molecular electronics. These analyses should be valuable for deeply understanding charge transport through molecular junctions, the device fabrication process, and the roadmap for future practical molecular electronics.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.|Key Laboratory of Optical Information Science and Technology, Institute of Modern Optics, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Chuancheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Institute of Applied Physics, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Takhee
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo