A High-On/Off-Ratio Floating-Gate Memristor Array on a Flexible Substrate via CVD-Grown Large-Area 2D Layer Stacking

Memristors such as phase-change memory and resistive memory have been proposed to emulate the synaptic activities in neuromorphic systems. However, the low reliability of these types of memories is their biggest challenge for commercialization. Here, a highly reliable memristor array using floating-gate memory operated by two terminals (source and drain) using van der Waals layered materials is demonstrated. Centimeter-scale samples (1.5 cm × 1.5 cm) of MoS₂ as a channel and graphene as a trap layer grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are used for array fabrication with Al₂ O₃ as the tunneling barrier. With regard to the memory characteristics, 93% of the devices exhibit an on/off ratio of over 10³ with an average ratio of 10⁴ . The high on/off ratio and reliable endurance in the devices allow stable 6-level memory applications. The devices also exhibit excellent memory durability over 8000 cycles with a negligible shift in the threshold voltage and on-current, which is a significant improvement over other types of memristors. In addition, the devices can be strained up to 1% by fabricating on a flexible substrate. This demonstration opens a practical route for next-generation electronics with CVD-grown van der Waals layered materials.

Photoinduced Recovery of Organic Transistor Memories with Photoactive Floating-Gate Interlayers

Optical memories based on photoresponsive organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are of great interest due to their unique applications, such as multibit storage memories and flexible imaging circuits. Most studies of OFET-type memories have focused on the photoresponsive active channels, but more useful functions can be additionally given to the devices by using floating gates that can absorb light. In this case, effects of photoirradiation on photoactive floating-gate layers need to be fully understood. Herein, we studied the photoinduced erasing effects of floating-gate interlayers on the electrical responses of OFET-type memories and considered the possible mechanisms. Polymer/C₆₀ composites were inserted between pentacene and SiO₂ to form photoresponsive floating-gate interlayers in transistor memory. When exposed to light, C₆₀ generated excitons, and these photoexcited carriers contributed to the elimination of trapped charge carriers, which resulted in the recovery of OFET performance. Such memory devices exhibited bistable current states controlled with voltage-driven programming and light-driven erasure. Furthermore, these devices maintained their charge-storing properties over 10 000 s. This proof-of-concept study is expected to open up new avenues in information technology for the development of organic memories that exhibit photoinduced recovery over a wide range of wavelengths of light when combined with appropriate photoactive floating-gate materials.

Floating gate memory-based monolayer MoS2 transistor with metal nanocrystals embedded in the gate dielectrics

Charge trapping layers are formed from different metallic nanocrystals in MoS2 -based nanocrystal floating gate memory cells in a process compatible with existing fabrication technologies. The memory cells with Au nanocrystals exhibit impressive performance with a large memory window of 10 V, a high program/erase ratio of approximately 10(5) and a long retention time of 10 years.