Molecules, with their precise and customizable properties, could power new computing, sensing, optical, and quantum technologies. But integrating them into devices at scale without damage is still a major challenge, since current fabrication methods aren’t compatible with atomic-level control.
MIT scientists present a strategy called self-assembled contacts in which device structures are first created with conventional semiconductor fabrication methods and then modified by surface interactions to yield sharp, flat surfaces that align themselves against molecules.
The team adapted standard semiconductor processes to work with molecules. First, they built device components using traditional methods. Then, they added molecules and used nanoscale surface forces to reshape the device, letting it self-assemble without harming the molecules. To prove the method’s strength and scalability, they successfully made over 1,000 devices with molecular layers thinner than a nanometer.
Farnaz Niroui, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), said, “Our platform combines the scalability of conventional semiconductor manufacturing with the precision and control of self-assembly. This establishes a new fabrication framework for the scalable, high-throughput integration of emerging nanoscale and quantum materials, including molecules, into functional devices with architectures and capabilities that were previously infeasible.”
In order to create working systems, these molecules must also interact with other device layers. In electronics, that translates into making contacts between molecules and metals. However, this traditional chip-making uses powerful chemicals that damage brittle molecules and hinder their performance.
In an effort to solve this dilemma, researchers from MIT devised a two-stage strategy: use conventional methods to first create all device components and later deposit the molecular material in place.
Co-author Peter Satterthwaite said, “By bringing the delicate materials into the process only after we have fabricated the main device elements, it allows us to use conventional processes that are normally not compatible with these nanomaterials.”
In their demonstration, the researchers created a scaffold made up of two metal electrodes with an artificially engineered gap. They then dressed the surfaces of these electrodes in a molecular coat. Finally, fluctuating nanoscale forces pulled the top electrode onto the molecules in self-aligned and non-destructive electrical contact.
When the size becomes nanoscale, other forces come into play than gravitation. The same way plants draw water into their tiny pores, here the most luxuriant man-made liquid is pulled through billion-thin cracks between every two surfaces by capillary forces, and as it evaporates, molecules are trapped in between electrodes, gently drawing them together.
After that, the next electrodes are held by van der Waals forces without disrupting individual molecules, which makes it a stable structure. Using this approach, the team produced over 1,000 devices comprised of molecular layers less than a nanometer thick that offer >96% yield and have shown stability for tens of thousands of electrical switching cycles.
This approach enables arrays of molecular memory devices, suggesting potential use in future computing architectures and extending the principles developed here to different materials.
Journal Reference:
- Spector, S.O., Satterthwaite, P.F., Conte, M. et al. Self-assembled contacts for high-yield molecular devices. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-026-02227-9
