Molecular Electronics

[RG # 132] Molecular Electronics

June 1 - August 30, 2012

Organizer:
Amnon Aharony (Ben-Gurion University)

Molecular electronics, one of the major fields in nanoscience, studies electronic devices based on single molecules, and on molecular networks connected to other electronic components. Its potential applications include sensors, displays, smart materials, molecular motors, logic and memory devices, molecular scale transistors and energy transduction devices. Besides being the next step in device miniaturization, molecules are able to bind to one another, recognize each other, assemble into larger structures, and exhibit dynamical stereochemistry. In addition to its technological potential, molecular electronics has raised many new fundamental questions, e.g. concerning the interactions of molecular systems with their environment and their functioning far from equilibrium.  Also, fluctuations and noise constitute an important part of the physics of such microscopic systems. At the moment there already exist several ingenious experimental realizations of transport through molecular bridges. There also exist a variety of different theoretical tools (both in chemistry and in physics) to attack the above important issues.

This group will bring together physicists and chemists, experimentalists and theoreticians, senior and young scientists, aiming to understand existing experiments, to propose new experiments (possibly combining various experimental tools) and new technological devices, using combinations of  various theoretical and experimental methods.

 

Members

men

Amnon Aharony

FELLOW
Ben-Gurion University

Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University

Research Interests: nanophysics; quantum electronic properties; magentism; phase transitions; theoretical physics of nanoscopic systems: small quantum devices, spin filters, quantum pumping, quantum interference.

men

Roi Baer

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Research Interests: Electronic structure of molecules, clusters and nanoclusters. Solar cells based on nanoclusters, organic molecules and nanotubes.

men

Juan Carlos Cuevas

FELLOW
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Department of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

av

Ora Entin-Wohlman

FELLOW
Ben-Gurion University

Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University

Research Interests: superconductivity; electronic interactions with vibrations; magnetic properties of transition-metal oxides; mesoscopic systems.

men

Ferdinand Evers

FELLOW
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Institute of Nanotechnology and Institut für Theorie der Kondensierten Materie
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Research Interests: Computational condensed matter theories of weakly correlated systems.

men

Shmuel Gurvitz

FELLOW
Weizmann Institute of Science

Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Research Interests: Quantum measurement and decoherence; zeno effect; quantum transport in mesoscopic and molecular systems; multi-dimensional tunneling; deep inelastic scattering.

men

Yoseph Imry

FELLOW
Weizmann Institute of Science

Department of Condensed Matter Physics
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

My research is centered on mesoscopic and disordered systems.

men

Daniel Neuhauser

FELLOW
UCLA

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
UCLA, USA

Research Interests: Nanopolaritonics; spintronics; density functional theory.

We are interested in a theoretical understanding of nanoscale devices capable of controlling:

men

Abraham Nitzan

FELLOW
Tel Aviv University

School of Chemistry
Tel Aviv University, Israel

men

Eran Rabani

FELLOW
Tel Aviv University

Department of Chemical Physics
School of Chemistry
Tel Aviv University, Israel

men

Peter Silvestrov

FELLOW
Freie Universität Berlin

Physics Department and Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Research Interests: Mesoscopic physics; graphene; topological insulators.

men

Spiros Skourtis

FELLOW
University of Cyprus

Department of Physics
University of Cyprus, Cyprus