A molecular memory cell includes first and second electrodes. First and second
charge storage molecules have respective first and second oxidation potentials
and are disposed between the first and second electrodes. A molecular linkage couples
the first and second charge storage molecules to the first electrode and provides
respective first and second electron transfer rates for the first and second charge
storage molecules. The first and second different oxidation potentials are different
and/or the first and second electron transfer rates are different. In particular,
the second oxidation potential may be greater than the first oxidation potential
and the first electron transfer rate may be greater than the second electron transfer
rate, such that the first charge storage molecule may be used as fast, volatile
primary memory and the second charge storage molecule can be used as slower, less
volatile secondary memory. In various embodiments, memory cells can be constructed
from an admixture of charge storage molecules or by using a bipartite charge storage
molecule. Memory cells can include a molecular transistor incorporating such molecular structures.