www. freedomtofascism. com wrote:

On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:40 -0400, "Timelord"
<timelord@cpbbs.synchro.net.remove-7ay-this> wrote:

Yes it is time to do the real
research and to find the truth.

The truth is you can't know the truth ..

GREAT!  TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE AND GO BUH-BYE!  Again, find something
ELSE to play with, you may even (although I would bet against it) grow
as a person.

Molecular substitution produces terahertz switch arrays By R. Colin
Johnson EE Times

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois
have developed a method of prepping single-crystal silicon wafers for
organic molecules, which produce molecular switches with atomic
precision.

Wafers from existing silicon manufacturing facilities could be used to
achieve switching arrays running at 100 terahertz, the researchers
said. By attaching arrays of spinning organic molecules to the surface
of a standard silicon wafer, the group demonstrated, in principle, how
to fabricate molecule memories running at THz speeds.

"The organic molecules are only attached where a single hydrogen atom
was removed, so they spin - some as fast as a 100 trillion times a
second," said Joseph Lyding, a UI professor of electrical and computer
engineering and a researcher at the University of Illinois Beckman
Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. "We're working with
chemists now who are designing molecules that when attached will act
like transistors that can switch at 100 trillion times a second," said
Lyding.

Lyding's group removed individual atoms of hydrogen from finished
wafers of single crystal silicon, creating "holes" on the silicon
surface. The holes create a gradient that attracts any free molecules
that happen to float by.  By exposing the prepped silicon only to
convenient organic molecules, the surface can be automatically
populated with arrays of identically spinning memory elements, each
emulating a transistor that switches each time it spins.

"If this technology takes hold, we will be returning to the mechanical
memories of yesteryear - because we are really just building a
mechanical relay, but on a nanotechnology scale. It will be read and
written to electrically, but the active element is just a very very
small mechanical device," said Lyding.

The researchers' first step was to remove the heavy oxidation that's
ordinarily applied to a silicon wafer, thus exposing a perfect silicon
surface. Then in very high vacuum, Lyding and fellow researchers Mark
Hersam and Nathan Guisinger passivated the pure silicon surface with
hydrogen - forming a single-atom-thick layer of hydrogen strongly
bonded to the silicon.

The next step involved using a scanning tunneling microscope to
dislodge individual hydrogen atoms to attach the spinning organic
molecules. The resulting surface was smooth like pure silicon, except
for holes where the individual hydrogen atoms had been removed. In
terms of gradients, these holes lure molecules toward their "dangling"
bonds, spontaneously self-assembling organic molecules, injected in
gas phase, into atomically precise arrays.

Atom-sized holes

Atomic precision in punching out single-atom-size holes in the
hydrogen surface was accomplished by a feedback loop from the
microscope that controlled the tunneling current. When the single
atomic bond was broken from the selected hydrogen atom, the feedback
signal instantly cut off the tunneling current to prevent further
disturbance to the surface. The microscope can also be programmed to
move to the next atom when a bond is broken, so that lines of hydrogen
atoms can be removed from the silicon surface.

"We are doing things now like writing two non-parallel lines that get
closer and closer together - in that way we can gauge just how close
we can get lines and still have them remain discrete," said Lyding.

In the end, the researchers impress "templates" atop the silicon
surface by scanning the tunneling microscope in chosen patterns.
Eventually, they will create arrays of memory or switching elements.
But for now the group is trying to perfect procedures. So far, they
have tried attaching three organic molecules: norbornadiene, copper
phthalocyanine and carbon-60 "buckyballs."

"The advantage of organic molecules is that their ends can be
functionalized so that they easily interface with either electronic or
nanoscale mechanical devices," said Lyding. The group cautions that it
has more work to do to validate its approach before a practical
circuit design method can be announced.