Singapore hosts workshop on building molecule-sized computer chips

Singapore’s IMRE houses rare R&D tools in the world powerful enough to study single molecule logic gates and surface atom circuit logic gates.

Tools capable of building computer chips 1000 times smaller than a grain of sand. That’s what experts from around the world will be talking about when they gather at A*STAR’s IMRE for a workshop on atomic scale interconnection machines. The tools are vital to the European Union’s €10 million Atomic Scale and Single Molecule Logic Gate Technologies, or AtMolproject in which IMRE is the only non-EU partner. The project lays the foundation for creating and testing a molecule-sized processor chip, according to an A*STAR report.

These tools physically move atoms into place one at a time to construct atomic scale circuits at cryogenic temperatures and are also able to interconnect the tiny circuits to the external environment. The machines are essentially miniature high precision scanning tunnelling microscopes that can image a surface with picometer precision and manipulate one atom or molecule at a time. They are coupled to a high-resolution electron microscope that allows a researcher to position interconnects to make an atomic scale circuit. This method is a leading alternative in the race to achieve continued miniaturisation of nanoelectronic devices. It is estimated that conventional methods for shrinking devices will reach their miniaturisation limit in 10-15 years and cannot be reduced further. Speakers from Europe, USA, Japan, Canada, Australia and Singapore will discuss advancements in such ultra-high vacuum (UHV) tools and plans for the next generation tools.

Because we are working at the scale of the atom, our tools have to be ultra high-precision and of extremely high-calibre, just like IMRE’s UHV interconnection machine, which is one of the three in AtMol that can study the performance of single molecule and surface atom circuit logic gates”, said the AtMol project leader, Prof Christian Joachim of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and an A*STAR Visiting Investigator at IMRE. Prof Joachim’s team in IMRE is one of the pioneers in atom technology, having built the world’s first controllable molecular gear and constructed the smallest digital logic gate with a single molecule. “This workshop brings together the world’s foremost experts to discuss the latest in atomic interconnection machine technology and how this can quicken the pace towards a working molecular chip.”

“The tools and the level of expertise that IMRE is contributing to this project show that the research in Singapore is truly at the cutting edge of global science”, said Prof Andy Hor, Executive Director of IMRE. “IMRE is extremely glad to host the event and be a part of a truly momentous scientific effort.”

The AtMol project aims to create a prototype molecular processor or a ‘concept chip’ in about four years time. The project will establish a comprehensive process for making the molecular chip using the three unique ultra high vacuum (UHV) atomic scale interconnection machines to build the chip atom-by-atom. The AtMol project was launched at the start of 2011 with 10 organisations from across Europe and IMRE in Singapore.