An overview of the progress made to date in the field of molecular electronics is given. The impetus to explore the molecular realm and to study possible uses of the new properties found in molecular materials is examined from both the materials and the microelectronics perspectives. Molecular materials have a wide range of properties, comparable to those of conventional solid state materials, and some specific advantages. With the scale of very large scale integrated electronics approaching that of macromolecules, it seems feasible to investigate the possibility of using carbon based molecular semiconductors and conductors for information processing and storage devices. The research activities in the molecular electronics field are discussed within three broad categories: molecular materials, molecular fabrication techniques and molecular computing. Some fundamental problems must be solved before significant contributions can be made by this new field of science to the electronic industry, yet several potential applications are currently being investigated. Some of these applications in electronic and optical devices, for the short and long term, are briefly discussed, in terms of possible improvement of the existing technology and developing new ones.
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