Organic Memory Devices

For organic electronics to realise its full potential, it is essential that a key basic circuit element is developed – the memory cell. Although memories represent by far the largest part of conventional (silicon-based) electronic systems, work on organic memories is lagging significantly behind the development of organic field effect transitors.

This project focuses on methods to develop the organic equivalent of a silicon flash memory device. Gold nanoparticles are being used as the charge storage elements while a thin film of polymethylmethacrylate formed the gate insulator. The electrical characteristics and the memory behaviour of the organic thin film memory transistor (OTFMT) are reported. Under an appropriate gate bias (1s pulses), the gold nanoparticles are charged and discharged, resulting in significant threshold voltage shifts of the OTFMT. The work represents a significant advance for organic electronics – the demonstration, for the first time, of an all-organic flash memory transistor.

For more information, please see our article in Electronics Weekly.