Organic Memory Chips Hold Data 12+ Hours Without Power Loss
Researchers have solved a persistent problem with organic ferroelectric materials: they lose their stored electrical charge too quickly. By applying weak electric fields and operating devices just above their phase transition temperature, scientists extended data retention to over 12 hours—potentially opening new markets for flexible, biodegradable electronics and low-power memory devices.
Originaltitel: Polarization loss in the organic ferroelectrictrialkylbenzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA)
<p>We investigate the polarization loss in the archetypical molecular organic ferroelectric trialkylbenzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA). We prove that the polarization loss is due to thermally activated R-relaxation,which is a collective reversal of the amide dipole moments in ferroelectric domains. By applying a weakelectrostatic field both the polarization loss and the R-relaxation are suppressed, leading to anenhancement of the retention time by at least several orders of magnitude. Alternative loss mechanismsare discussed and ruled out. By operating the thin-film devices slightly above the crystalline to liquidcrystalline phase transition temperature the retention time of one compound becomes more than12 hours even in absence of supportive bias, which is among the longest reported so far for organicferroelectric materials.</p>