NIT >> News October 17, 2001 Montebello, Quebec, Canada France-Canada Conference Highlights Molecular Nanotechnologies Positioned to Revolutionize Human-Computer Interactions and the High-Speed Optical Internet Leading researchers from France and Canada have gathered at Château Montebello for a 3-day conference on Molecular Photonics and Electronics October 15-17. This emerging field of science and technology uses the latest breakthroughs in organic and polymer synthesis - the chemistry of designer molecules, materials, and structures - to carry out the operations urgently needed in the high-performance, highly flexible optical Internet of the future. Researchers discussed physical principles and reported new results which could lead to ways of routing packets of information using light alone; of displaying information visually on flexible, wrap-around materials; and of making ultra-compact, low-cost optical circuits that could ultimately plug into a PC. Dr. Arthur Carty, President of the National Research Council of Canada, gave the inaugural address of the Conference on Monday. Prof. Joseph Zyss, Director of the Molecular and Quantum Photonics Laboratory at l’École Normale Supérieure de Cachan near Paris gave a welcome on behalf of the many French participants and sponsors. Prof. Peter Smith, Director of the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications at the University of Toronto, also welcomed the participants. The conference is co-sponsored by the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications of the University of Toronto, the National Research Council of Canada, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique on the French side. Thirty talks were given by leaders of research teams at Canadian and French laboratories in industry, government, and universities. Presentations of research breakthroughs were divided evenly among Canadian and French participants, and across the spectrum of molecular photonics, molecular electronics, and the engineering of novel devices and systems based on these novel materials. The intimate occasion and setting served to foster discussions of further collaborations among Canadian and French leaders in their research fields. A number of specific initiatives were planned which would include the exchange of scientific personnel and capabilities among the countries advancing the bilateral initiative. Invited keynote presentations were given by Dr. Zhenan Bao of Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies); Prof. Jimmy Xu of Brown University; Mr. Daniel Chang representing the team of Prof. Harold Fetterman (UCLA); and Prof. Mark A. Reed of Yale University. The participants resolved at the concluding session of the conference: That Molecular Photonics and Electronics - now a dynamic field of research in French and Canadian laboratories in industry, government, and universities - has grown and diversified in the year since the France-Canada Workshop held in Cachan in September 2000. The application-oriented challenges which the field of molecular photonics and electronics seeks to address - of new functions, new interfaces, ultra-high-performance - lie on the threshold of becoming a practical, market-feasible solution. That French and Canadian researchers who together initiated collaborations at last year’s workshop have already begun to produce results which would not have been achieved in the absence of international, interdisciplinary collaborations. That there exist a host of further synergies which have been identified at this year’s conference, and which the participants are committed to pursue. Individual meetings held on the occasion of the conference resulted in identification of numerous avenues meriting rapid follow-up by new Canadian and French collaborators. That the participants are committed to seek the resources required to enable a heightened level of collaborative activity on the France-Canada scale. This includes the need of support for new personnel to work on new collaborative projects; costs of exchange of personnel; and the cost of materials and infrastructure with which to carry out the research. For further information contact the co-chairs of the Canada-France Conference on Molecular Photonics and Electronics: Prof. Ted Sargent, Nortel Institute for Telecommunication at the University of Toronto ted.sargent@utoronto.ca Dr. Marie D’Iorio, National Research Council of Canada Marie.DIorio@nrc.ca Prof. Joseph Zyss, ENS Cachan Joseph.Zyss@lpqm.ens-cachan.fr Dr. Chantal Andraud, ENS Lyon Chantal.Andraud@ens-lyon.fr Backgrounder on molecular photonics and electronics Molecular photonics and electronics apply properties of complex assemblies of atoms - including organic and polymeric molecules - to realize new functions that may transform the Internet, computers, and human-machine interactions. Key ingredients include: The design and synthesis of new molecules and materials through a rapidly advancing ability to predict properties and engineer materials to a requirement. A technology platform based on low-cost materials, physically flexible substrates, a generalized adaptability and multifunctionality, and compatibility with “soft” technologies of lithography and further surface chemistry. Advanced instrumentation, permitting single-photon, single-electron emission and detection techniques based on such methods as advanced confocal microscopy, near-field optical methods, and scanning tunneling microscopy. New physics such as that based on photonic crystals, microcavity lasers, and organic superconduction. The field takes its inspiration from organisms and the organic molecules which engender life - the epitome of high-level, robust function arising out of subtle combination and complexity. The field is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on basic science in physics, chemistry, and biology, becoming real through materials and electrical engineering, and finding its motivation and feedback through information technology and data communications. Further details regarding the Conference are available at http://www.nrc.ca/confserv/2001-molecularphotonics/ Related NIT news items