Molecular Nanowires and Other Quantum Objects

There is a growing understanding that the progress of the conventional silicon technology will reach its physical, engineering and economic limits in near future. This fact, however, does not mean that progress in computing will slow down. What will take us beyond the silicon era are new nano-technologies that are being pursued in university and corporate laboratories around the world. In particular, molecular switching devices and systems that will self-assemble through molecular recognition are being designed and studied. Many labora­ tories are now testing new types of these and other reversible switches, as well as fabricating nanowires needed to connect circuit elements together. But there are still significant opportunities and demand for invention and discovery be­ fore nanoelectronics will become a reality. The actual mechanisms of transport through molecular quantum dots and nanowires are of the highest current ex­ perimental and theoretical interest. In particular, there is growing evidence that both electron-vibron interactions and electron-electron correlations are impor­ tant. Further progress requires worldwide efforts of trans-disciplinary teams of physicists, quantum chemists, material and computer scientists, and engineers.