Abstract

The inability to shrink silicon based electronic devices has lead to increasing interest in the field of nano-electronics. The use of individual molecule as component in electronic circuits has been at the forefront of most nano-electronic research in recent years. The technology based on use of molecules as circuit elements could play a prominent role in extending the current silicon based devices beyond the projected limits of CMOS scaling. It has been shown that conjugated molecules with appropriate pendant groups and end groups are capable of showing interesting electronic properties like conductance switching and NDR (Negative Differential Resistance). Even though there has been substantial amount of work done in this area there still remains several knowledge gaps which needs to be addressed. The work presented in this thesis discusses some of the electronic properties of conjugated molecules, conductance switching in particular. Also, we have investigated the area of regioselective molecular self assembly using electrochemistry which would in principal provide us considerable amount of control over molecular device fabrication. The molecules of interest for this study were alkanethiols (hexanethiol butanethiol and dodecanethiol) and OPE (Oligo Phelylene Ethylene). We have successfully demonstrated that OPE in dodecanethiol matrix shows stochastic conductance switching at room temperature. We have also shown the chain length dependence of potential and capacitance in Self Assembled Monolayer of alkanethiols of varied chain length.