BENGALURU: Scientists from Indian Institute of Science ( IISc ) reported an advance in the long quest to move electronics beyond silicon, by creating molecular-scale devices that can adapt their behaviour and perform multiple computing functions within the same material.In a study that brings together chemistry, physics, and electrical engineering, the IISc team has demonstrated tiny electronic devices built from specially-designed molecules that can switch roles depending on how they are electrically stimulated. As a result, controlling molecular behaviour reliably has remained difficult.At the same time, neuromorphic computing that aims to build hardware inspired by brain, has struggled to find materials that can naturally combine memory and computation.Existing systems rely on oxide materials that imitate learning by engineered switching, rather than learning being intrinsic property of the material.The new work from IISc suggests these two challenges may be addressed together. By carefully altering chemical ligands and surrounding ions, the researchers were able to tune how electrons move through thin molecular films.These subtle chemical changes allowed the devices to display a wide range of behaviours, from sharp digital switching to smooth analogue responses, across many levels of electrical conductance.
Author: TNN
Published at: 2025-12-30 23:23:20
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