The present invention includes a method for creating a reconfigurable nanometer-scale electronic network. One embodiment of the invention is made up of the following steps. The first step entails depositing nanometer-scale electrically conducting islands on an insulating substrate. The next step entails engineering electrically conducting molecules to preferentially attach to the nanometer-scale electrically conducting islands, forming a semi-regular array of current-conducting elements. The next step entails selecting individual nodes for bond breaking by applying electrical currents through two orthogonal molecular filaments, this current heating both the molecules and islands raising the temperature of the current-conducting elements at individual nodes and breaking bonds in accordance with a pre-selected network design. The next step entails repeating the step of selecting individual nodes for bond breaking to produce thereby the nanometer-scale electronic network. Additional forces can be applied to the selected molecules with a magnetic field, B, in the plane of the substrate; these fields will induce outs-of-plane forces, F, on only those molecules which are carrying current.
A photodetector, detector array, and method of operation thereof in which nanojunctions are formed by crossing layers of nanowires. The crossing nanowires are separated by a few nm thick electrical barrier layer which allows tunneling. Each nanojunction is coupled to a slot antenna for efficient and frequency-selective coupling to photo signals. The nanojunctions formed at the intersection of the crossing wires defines a vertical tunneling diode that rectifies the AC signal from a coupled antenna and generates a DC signal suitable for reforming a video image. The nanojunction sensor allows multi/hyper spectral imaging of radiation within a spectral band ranging from terahertz to visible light, and including infrared (IR) radiation. This new detection approach also offers unprecedented speed, sensitivity and fidelity at room temperature.
A method including storing two-dimensional binary data in the form of high or low resistance states into a crossbar array with a programmable material layer and transforming the two-dimensional binary data into one-dimensional analog data via the crossbar array.
A method includes providing a crossbar array including a programmable material layer, wherein the crossbar array is configured to function as part of a signal processing system and reprogramming at least one impedance value of the programmable material layer formed at crosspoints of the crossbar array to change the signal processing system.
A device including a nanowire crossbar array including a programmable material layer, at least one of input or output circuitry, and at least one array of input or output tips to provide an electrical connection between the nanowire crossbar array and the input or output circuitry.
