AIST: Electronic memory device printed on a plastic film
An electronic memory device printed on a plastic film has been prototyped by a Japanese research group. The Organic Semiconductor Devices Group of the Photonics Research Institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has produced a device with a 3 × 3 memory array which retains a two-digit drain current on/off ratio for more than 10 days after power is turned off.
The group used a soluble biopolymer material with a bar-like helix structure to create a ferroelectric thin film by changing inter-molecular interactions by controlling the molecular weight and molecular structure of the biopolymer. Then it made a two-terminal device that has the ferroelectric thin film, treated as a dielectric layer, placed between electrodes, and confirmed that the device demonstrates memory capability.