Nature and electronics meet: How to make a tiny wire and connect it to DNA

Using the structure of DNA as electrical circuitry in computer chips may shrink the costs of production in the field of nano-electronics.

In a new study published in Chemistry of Materials, a team of Brigham Young University scientists introduces a method for making tiny wires on an insulating surface and connecting them at pre-determined points on a strand of DNA.

“We’re using a bottom-up approach to see if we can get things like DNA, proteins and other chemicals to assemble exactly where we direct them,” said Matthew Linford, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at BYU. “We hope this will provide new models for shrinking the size for semiconductor chips.”

The study’s publication coincides with the award of a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation for the BYU researchers to continue the project. The grant will fund the project for four years with the goal of advancing the use of DNA as a template for tiny electrical circuits.

The process begins by etching a carefully controlled pattern onto a surface using an atomic force microscope. This is done in a chemical solution that leaves an extremely thin layer of metal over the pattern, making tiny wires. To these wires, the researchers bind strands of DNA that become the scaffolding for an electrical circuit.

“What we are borrowing from nature is the great flexibility DNA has to form a wide variety of shapes,” said Robert Davis, associate professor of physics and astronomy at BYU. “The DNA is also robust and can handle a wide variety of conditions.”

Along with the prospect for developing a cheaper way to make computer chips, the researchers hope their work leads to devices that are packed more densely than today’s semiconductors.

The project crosses three disciplines at BYU: chemical engineering, chemistry and physics. Joining Linford and Davis on the NSF grant award is John Harb, professor of chemical engineering and associate dean of the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Dean Wheeler, assistant professor of chemical engineering; and Adam Woolley, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Woolley is also a recent recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the government’s highest honor offered to young scientists.

Students at the graduate and undergraduate level also assist the project in the lab and benefit from exposure to scientific fields other than their major.

“This is providing the students with outstanding training across a number of disciplines,” Linford said. “If you go into industry, people have problems to solve and it doesn’t matter what discipline you tap into to solve that problem.”

Writer: Marissa Ballantyne

 

More Information on This Article

Article Source/Further Information

News and Events

Image for Mystery of Haumea's Formation Solved
BYU Physics and Astronomy student Benjamin Proudfoot recently published research in the prestigious journal Nature Communications that solves the mystery of the icy dwarf planet Haumea's formation.
Image for Debunking acoustics myths around the Saturn V
When the Saturn V rocket propelled man to the moon in July 1969, the blast from the rocket’s engines was tremendous. Marked by a dazzling display of flames and deafening noise, the monumental event gave rise to widespread claims that the acoustic force of the rocket melted concrete and ignited grass fires miles away. New research from BYU debunks this common myth.
Image for Dr. Aleksandr Mosenkov, new Astronomy faculty
Dr. Aleksandr Mosenkov, new faculty, looks forward to receiving some of the first data from the James Webb Space Telescope to study galaxy formation
Image for Sounding out the Deep: Traci Neilsen’s Trip to the North Atlantic
A recent research adventure took Dr. Traci Neilsen and two students to the North Atlantic Ocean. Neilsen, an associate professor of physics at BYU, and her team apply artificial intelligence to noises in the ocean to classify the seabed.
Image for Reveling in Uncertainty
Despite the inherent time constraints of engaging undergraduate and graduate students in research, Scott Bergeson enjoys teaching this “seek and find” principle to his students, a principle that has become his philosophy for life.
Image for BYU Acoustics Records Artemis Launch
A group of BYU students and professors gathered acoustical recordings of at the world’s most powerful rocket launch.
Image for Kent Gee Recognized by AIAA
Kent Gee is selected as Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in their class of 2023
Image for West Mountain Observatory contributes to understand distant galaxy
BYU’s West Mountain Observatory was one of 37 ground-based telescopes throughout the world monitoring the active galaxy that is roughly 1 billion light years away.
Image for Dr. Tim Leishman retires from BYU
Dr. Leishman's time at BYU was filled with great teaching and profound mentoring
Image for Dr. John Colton: Table Tennis Champion
Dr. John Colton won the 2022 BYU intramural table tennis tournament