Molecular electronics: A brief overview of the status of the field

Abstract

The developments in the field of molecular electronics have seen many successes and many setbacks, but the field continues to inspire scientists around the world, now more than ever. The interest is, certainly, for a large part in the fundamental issues: molecules as conducting elements bring together questions from various fields of study and lead to profound new questions. However, this interest alone would not suffice to explain the large efforts in research. Indeed, the prospects of developing electronics with better performance, higher density, and new functionality are what motivates most of the research. In this introductory chapter, I will attempt to take stock of the field, to evaluate what has been achieved, and to identify the interesting challenges that lie ahead.