IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE

Self-assembly techniques that allow the controlled growth of nanometer-scale organic molecular films present new opportunities to develop electronic devices with dimensions much smaller than those of current technologies. In this thesis we address several of the challenges to realizing this goal, and demonstrate a molecular-scale programmable-resistance memory device. Although technologically attractive, field-effect transistors (FETs) with a self-assembled organic channel are difficult to realize due to the poor gate-channel coupling. We have used electrostatic modeling to determine guidelines that allow the maximum gate modulation of the channel potential in these devices. Molecular-scale devices with integrated metal wiring are desirable for practical application. However, this typically requires the vacuum deposition of metal electrodes, which can damage the thin organic layer. We developed several approaches to fabricate two-terminal molecular-scale devices with vacuum-deposited metal electrodes and minimal defects in the organic layer. To demonstrate these devic