The rapid miniaturization of electronics to the micrometer scale has been a key force driving scientific and economic progress over the past 25 years. Nanometer-scale electronics (nanoelectronics) is the closely watched next frontier.
Toward Nanocomputers
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The rapid miniaturization of electronics to the micrometer scale has been a key force driving scientific and economic progress over the past 50 years. Nanometer-scale electronics (nanoelectronics) is the closely watched next frontier. This paper reviews important recent progress toward realizing next-generation electronic computers using naturally occurring nanometer-scale structures (i.e., molecules), as well as synthetic molecular-scale conductive structures like semiconductor nanowires. Also highlighted are a number of challenges that the science and engineering community still must address as it moves forward toward developing such nanocomputers.