13-08-2012, 05:06 PM
The Long History of Molecular Electronics
[attachment=31351]
ABSTRACT
Long before nanotechnology, the semiconductor industry was
miniaturizing microelectronic components. Since the late 1950s, that industry’s
dominant material has been silicon. Yet there have always been competitors to silicon
that supporters hope will upend the semiconductor industry. It is impossible to
understand this industry without a more complete picture of these alternatives – how
they come about, how they capture organizational support, why they fail. It is equally
impossible to understand nanotechnology without a focus on these alternatives, since
research communities devoted to perfecting them today form the backbone of the
nanotechnology field. We trace the history of the longest lived silicon alternative –
molecular electronics. Molecular electronics arose in the late 1950s as a visionary
program conducted by Westinghouse on behalf of the Air Force. We attribute its
failure to the difficulties inherent in matching a futuristic vision to a bureaucratically
accountable, incremental program that could compete with silicon. Molecular
electronics reappeared again at IBM in the 1970s and at the Naval Research
Laboratory in the 1980s. In each of these incarnations, molecular electronics’
charismatic champions failed to gain the organizational support to make it a
mainstream technology. Only at the turn of the century, with new nanotechnology
institutions and new models of industry–university collaboration, has some form of
molecular electronics neared acceptance by the semiconductor industry.
‘Tyranny of Numbers’
The transistor was by no means the first step toward miniaturizing electronic
components. DuringWorldWar II, electronics manufacturers developed
and produced miniaturized and sub-miniaturized vacuum tubes for
various weapons systems under military contract. Nevertheless, it cannot
be denied that the invention of the transistor was a watershed moment.The
military immediately recognized its merit. As Harold A. Zahl, research
director of the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories, noted, the
transistor was an ‘apparent promise ... to relieve the GI of one of his biggest
headaches – carrying weight; with a smaller radio he could carry more food
and bullets’ (Zahl, 1968: 115).The transistor, it seemed to Zahl, was a perfect
solution to many of the engineering problems: it was smaller, lighter,
consumed less power, and emitted less heat. It was difficult to ask for more.
Constructing the Black Box of Molecular Electronics
The micro-module and other ‘Lego-like’ alternatives were a clever solution
to the problem of interconnections. While these techniques substantially
enhanced the reliability of electronic components, however, the interconnections
were still there, functioning as a physical limit to further miniaturization.
The notion of ‘molecular electronics’ emerged from three
sources in the course of searching for a solution to this problem: Arthur R.
von Hippel’s materials research program at MIT;Westinghouse Electric’s
semiconductor research program; and US Air Force’s search for next-generation
electronic components for its missile and space vehicle program.
Filling in the Black Box
Several months after the conference in early 1959,Westinghouse submitted
a formal proposal to the Aeronautical System Center of the Air Mobility
Command. This led in April to a US$2 million development contract to
pursue molecular electronics. Thus, the joint Air Force–Westinghouse
molecular electronics program began with the Air Force in search of a nextgeneration
technology of electronic miniaturization and integration, one
that would go far beyond the current frontier of integrated circuits. By
attempting to fill in the black box of molecular electronics,Westinghouse
aimed both to fulfill the ‘needs of the Air Force’ and its own desire to
leapfrog into the forefront of solid-state electronics.12
[attachment=31351]
ABSTRACT
Long before nanotechnology, the semiconductor industry was
miniaturizing microelectronic components. Since the late 1950s, that industry’s
dominant material has been silicon. Yet there have always been competitors to silicon
that supporters hope will upend the semiconductor industry. It is impossible to
understand this industry without a more complete picture of these alternatives – how
they come about, how they capture organizational support, why they fail. It is equally
impossible to understand nanotechnology without a focus on these alternatives, since
research communities devoted to perfecting them today form the backbone of the
nanotechnology field. We trace the history of the longest lived silicon alternative –
molecular electronics. Molecular electronics arose in the late 1950s as a visionary
program conducted by Westinghouse on behalf of the Air Force. We attribute its
failure to the difficulties inherent in matching a futuristic vision to a bureaucratically
accountable, incremental program that could compete with silicon. Molecular
electronics reappeared again at IBM in the 1970s and at the Naval Research
Laboratory in the 1980s. In each of these incarnations, molecular electronics’
charismatic champions failed to gain the organizational support to make it a
mainstream technology. Only at the turn of the century, with new nanotechnology
institutions and new models of industry–university collaboration, has some form of
molecular electronics neared acceptance by the semiconductor industry.
‘Tyranny of Numbers’
The transistor was by no means the first step toward miniaturizing electronic
components. DuringWorldWar II, electronics manufacturers developed
and produced miniaturized and sub-miniaturized vacuum tubes for
various weapons systems under military contract. Nevertheless, it cannot
be denied that the invention of the transistor was a watershed moment.The
military immediately recognized its merit. As Harold A. Zahl, research
director of the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories, noted, the
transistor was an ‘apparent promise ... to relieve the GI of one of his biggest
headaches – carrying weight; with a smaller radio he could carry more food
and bullets’ (Zahl, 1968: 115).The transistor, it seemed to Zahl, was a perfect
solution to many of the engineering problems: it was smaller, lighter,
consumed less power, and emitted less heat. It was difficult to ask for more.
Constructing the Black Box of Molecular Electronics
The micro-module and other ‘Lego-like’ alternatives were a clever solution
to the problem of interconnections. While these techniques substantially
enhanced the reliability of electronic components, however, the interconnections
were still there, functioning as a physical limit to further miniaturization.
The notion of ‘molecular electronics’ emerged from three
sources in the course of searching for a solution to this problem: Arthur R.
von Hippel’s materials research program at MIT;Westinghouse Electric’s
semiconductor research program; and US Air Force’s search for next-generation
electronic components for its missile and space vehicle program.
Filling in the Black Box
Several months after the conference in early 1959,Westinghouse submitted
a formal proposal to the Aeronautical System Center of the Air Mobility
Command. This led in April to a US$2 million development contract to
pursue molecular electronics. Thus, the joint Air Force–Westinghouse
molecular electronics program began with the Air Force in search of a nextgeneration
technology of electronic miniaturization and integration, one
that would go far beyond the current frontier of integrated circuits. By
attempting to fill in the black box of molecular electronics,Westinghouse
aimed both to fulfill the ‘needs of the Air Force’ and its own desire to
leapfrog into the forefront of solid-state electronics.12