United States and Israeli Scientist Develop World’s Tiniest Diode

A group of US and Israeli scientists were brought together to help develop with the world’s tiniest diode. The diode is formed from the size of a single molecule of DNA that is unseen by a conventional microscope.

Diodes are a specialized electronic component that allows the flow of current in one direction. This is discovery allows for a better insight into electronic transport mechanisms. Yoni Dubi, developer from Ben-Grunion University of the Negev states that this breakthrough discovery is “a significant milestone in the development of molecular electronic devices”.

Students from the University of Georgia and Ben-Grunion University of the Negev are coming together to establish similar properties of molecular components and electronic elements to help aid the growth of nano-scale electronics. Dbui and his students were able to construct a theoretical model of DNA, getting a better understanding on how this diode works.

The University of Georgia’s REU program allows for research of micro-/nano-technology, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The Ben-Grunion University of Negev is a public research university that was established in 1969 and named after Israel’s founder and first prime minister.

The process of developing the tiny diode began by constructing a single DNA molecule from 11 pairs, and connecting an electronic circuit. At first, the DNA molecule was not functioning as a diode, but after inserting another molecule the circuit was immediately altered. Students found that when inserting a molecule between the layers of DNA the current was 15 times stronger.