A Spin-on Organic Memory System with Low Switching Energy, Scalability, Stability and Cyclability

In this talk I will describe an organic resistive memory consisting of a metal-centred azo-aromatic complex that switches with voltages as low as 130 mV with ON/Off ratios exceeding 1000. These devices are highly reproducible, scalable down to sub-10 nm dimensions and can be cycled more than 10¹² cycles. Using in-situ Raman spectroscopy the mechanism of the switching has been well established as arising from enhanced charge transfer when the ligands of the molecules are in the same redox states versus in different states. By changing the molecular structure multi-state devices are possible and under optical excitation the device shows preferential photoluminescence in the Off versus On state. The hysteresis in the memory is associated with the counterions (CI) of the molecule and as a function of temperature the counter ion dynamics leads to multiple steps in the switching state with as many as 39 steps for the case of a small counter ion like Cl.