Lanthanide Luminescence to Mimic Molecular Logic and Computing through Physical Inputs

The remarkable advances in molecular logic reported in the last decade demonstrate the potential of luminescent molecules for logical operations, a paradigm-changing concerning silicon-based electronics. Trivalent lanthanide (Ln3+) ions, with their characteristic narrow line emissions, long-lived excited states, and photostability under illumination, may improve the state-of-the-art molecular logical devices. Here, the use of monolithic silicon-based structures incorporating Ln3+ complexes for performing logical functions is reported. Contrary to chemical inputs, physical inputs may enable the future concatenation of distinct logical functions and reuse of the logical devices, a clear step forward toward input–output homogeneity that is precluding the integration of nowadays molecular logic devices.
Adv. Optical Mater. 2020, 2000312.