화학공학소재연구정보센터
Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.378, 185-192, 2002
Organic bistable devices
A novel organic bistable device with an unconventional structure, i.e., an organic/metal/organic triple layer sandwiched between two outmost metal electrodes, has been developed. The current-voltage characteristics have a sharp increase in injection current by as much as 6 orders of magnitude when the applied bias is larger than a critical voltage. After having had the electrical bias, the device remains in the low impedance state even when the power is off. (This is called the "nonvolatile" phenomenon in memory devices.) The high impedance state can be recovered by applying a reverse bias; therefore, this controllable electrical bistability is ideal for memory applications. Similar electrical bistable behavior has been observed in devices using several different metals and organic materials. Our results suggest that the unique device structure, i.e., a thin metal layer embedded between two organic layers, is critical for the observed bistability. Discussions of the possible operational mechanisms are provided.