Electronics of single-wall carbon nanotubes

Device miniaturization has been a focus since the invention of the integrated circuit, with current industrial plans for MOSFETs with 70 nm channels. Anticipating yet smaller critical dimensions, physicists and chemists are exploring nanometer-scale devices based on semiconductors and single molecules. The small size of molecular electronic circuitry has profound device implications. Ballistic electron transport over nanometer distances allows THz switching speeds, and novel device architectures based on quantum effects and electron charging are conceivable. Only recently, a room temperature single-molecule device was demonstrated, a transistor made from a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT). This is the first of a new class of molecular circuits with potential for significant impact. Here, focus is on progress in SWNT molecular transistors and quantum effect single-electron transistors (SETs).