Different Steric-Twist-Induced Ternary Memory Characteristics in Nonconjugated Copolymers with Pendant Naphthalene and 1,8-Naphthalimide Moieties

Regulating the electrical resistive switching behaviors of polyimides through different steric hindrance substituents on 2,7-position of tetraphenyl fluorene diamines moieties

Three novel polyimides (PI(TPF-Br BPDA), PI(TPF-Ph BPDA), and PI(TPF-Ph-OMe BPDA)) with tetraphenyl fluorene (TPF) were synthesized and tested. The laboratorial results showed that the constructed electronic devices exhibited different memory behaviors due to the different steric hindrance substituents (bromine atom, phenyl, and 3,5-dimethoxyphenyl) in 2,7-position of TPF molecule. The memorizers based on PI(TPF-Br BPDA) and PI(TPF-Ph BPDA) presented volatile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) feature with turn-on voltages of −2.39 and +1.45 V, as same as −1.71 and +1.74 V, separately. However, the PI(TPF-Ph-OMe BPDA) based apparatus exhibited non-volatile write-once read-many-times memory (WORM) behavior with turn-on voltage of −1.13 V, due to the more charge traps of 3,5-dimethoxyphenyl moieties and higher dipole moment. The switching mechanism was verified by quantum simulation of energy level, electrostatic potential (ESP) surface and dipole moment. These results indicated that the electrical memory performance of the synthesized TPF-based PIs could be adjusted by modifying the electron donor structure.

Zinc Ion Triggered Controllable Binary/Ternary Memory Conversion Behaviors in Polyimides Containing Pendant Porphyrin Group

Compared with typical binary polymeric memory materials, functional polymers with ternary memory performance possess significant potential to achieve ultra-high-density data storage. The reported ternary memory polymers are normally driven by dual-mechanism. However, the involved thermodynamically unstable mechanisms (field-induced conformation change or conductive filament formation/fracture) may result in the poor reliability of memory devices under high-temperature working atmosphere. Another strategy to realize ternary memory is introducing charge trapping/de-trapping mechanism by attaching charge trap atom/group at electron donor, which is proved not always effective. Moreover, the synergistic two mechanisms may have difficulty for clarifying the relationship between memory performance and chemical structures, which is the core issue of polymer memory materials. Besides, some multi-level memory materials need the cooperative participation of artificially setting compliance current, which is the extension of typical binary memory and may cause a more complicated technique and logic circuit. Herein, based on charge-transfer mechanism, a concise and effective strategy to realize ternary memory application is proposed. By inserting a Zn ion, the charge-transfer process occurring in electron donors can lead to the novel electrical tri-stability memory behaviors. This work can provide a novel idea for achieving reliable and intrinsic ternary high-density data storage applications.

The Effect of Random and Block Copolymerization with Pendent Carbozole Donors and Naphthalimide Acceptors on Multilevel Memory Performance

Polymeric materials have been widely used in the fabrication of data-storage devices, owing to their unique advantages and defined conduction mechanisms. To date, the most-functional polymers that have been reported for memory devices were synthesized through random copolymerization, whilst there have been no reports regarding the memory effect of block polymers. Herein, we synthesized a random copolymer (PMCz₈ -co-PMBNa₂ ) and its corresponding block copolymer (PMCz₈ -b-PMBNa₂ ) to study the effect of the method of polymerization on the memory properties of the corresponding devices. Interestingly, both devices (ITO/PMCz₈ -co-PMBNa₂ /Al and ITO/PMCz₈ -b-PMBNa₂ /Al) exhibited ternary memory performance, with threshold voltages of -1.7 V/-3.3 V and -2.7 V/-3.8 V, respectively. However, based on comprehensive measurements, the memory properties of PMCz₈ -co-PMBNa₂ and PMCz₈ -b-PMBNa₂ were found to be owing to the operation of different conduction mechanisms, which resulted from different molecular stacking in the film state. Therefore, we expect that this work will be helpful for improving our understanding of the conduction mechanisms in polymer-based data-storage devices.

Synthesis and non-volatile electrical memory characteristics of triphenylamine-based polyimides with flexibility segments

Two triphenylamine-based polyimides (PI(TPA-PMDA) and PI(TPA-BPDA)) containing a flexibility segments were prepared. The memory device of ITO/PI(TPA-PMDA)/Al exhibited write-once read-many-times (WORM) memory behavior, however, the memory device of PI(TPA-BPDA) demonstrated flash-type memory characteristics.