ABSTRACT
To create miniature devices that reliably process low-amplitude signals, researchers have begun to explore the possibility of using biological molecules that can act as signal wave guides, switches, transistors, and digital logic gates. In a broad context, biomolecular electronics is defined as technology that uses
chromophore
and
protein
molecules to encode, manipulate, and retrieve information at the molecular or macromolecular level. The approach is in sharp contrast to current microchip technology that exploits the lithographic manipulation of bulk silicon materials to generate integrated electronic and opto-electronic circuits. However, according to the highly quoted
Moore’s law
[Birge et al., 1999] these conventional silicon chip designs are reaching their capacity to process information and make computations and are expected to reach their physical limits in the next decade. Exploiting biomolecular electronics can significantly reduce feature size by several orders of magnitude and decrease gate propagation delays because devices can be fabricated atom by atom. Biomolecular electronics also provides
an opportunity for designers to create new hybrid technologies and computing architectures that can perform tasks more energy efficiently.
