Information Storage Using Supramolecular Surface Patterns

Abstract

Novel strategies forinformation storage technology rely upon multistable systems that can be controllably switched between different configurations of comparable free energy. Multistability is present in many molecular and supramolecular systems through a variety of properties (conformations, redox and spin states, shape and dimensionality) that can be influenced by external stimuli. In the solid state, however, it is difficult to amplify the effects of molecular switching to higher length scales in order to relay the response to the outside world.