The Quantum Interference Effect Transistor: Principles and Perspectives

TL;DR

The paper discusses the Quantum Interference Effect Transistor (QuIET), a device leveraging molecular interference to control electronic current, with models and fabrication ideas for future nanoelectronic applications.

Contribution

It introduces the QuIET concept, detailing its operational principles, modeling results, and potential fabrication methods, advancing molecular-scale transistor technology.

Findings

Perfect destructive interference blocks current in off state.

Decoherence or scattering enables current flow in on state.

Model calculations demonstrate QuIET's effectiveness.

Abstract

We give a detailed discussion of the Quantum Interference Effect Transistor (QuIET), a proposed device which exploits interference between electron paths through aromatic molecules to modulate current flow. In the off state, perfect destructive interference stemming from the molecular symmetry blocks current, while in the on state, current is allowed to flow by locally introducing either decoherence or elastic scattering. Details of a model calculation demonstrating the efficacy of the QuIET are presented, and various fabrication scenarios are proposed, including the possibility of using conducting polymers to connect the QuIET with multiple leads.