Quantum tunnelling and charge accumulation in organic ferroelectric memory diodes

Matteo Ghittorelli, Thomas Lenz, Hamed Sharifi Dehsari, Dong Zhao, Kamal Asadi, Paul W. M. Blom, Zsolt M. Kovács-Vajna, Dago M. de Leeuw and Fabrizio Torricelli ()
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Matteo Ghittorelli: University of Brescia
Thomas Lenz: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Hamed Sharifi Dehsari: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Dong Zhao: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Kamal Asadi: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Paul W. M. Blom: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Zsolt M. Kovács-Vajna: University of Brescia
Dago M. de Leeuw: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Fabrizio Torricelli: University of Brescia

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Non-volatile memories—providing the information storage functionality—are crucial circuit components. Solution-processed organic ferroelectric memory diodes are the non-volatile memory candidate for flexible electronics, as witnessed by the industrial demonstration of a 1 kbit reconfigurable memory fabricated on a plastic foil. Further progress, however, is limited owing to the lack of understanding of the device physics, which is required for the technological implementation of high-density arrays. Here we show that ferroelectric diodes operate as vertical field-effect transistors at the pinch-off. The tunnelling injection and charge accumulation are the fundamental mechanisms governing the device operation. Surprisingly, thermionic emission can be disregarded and the on-state current is not space charge limited. The proposed model explains and unifies a wide range of experiments, provides important design rules for the implementation of organic ferroelectric memory diodes and predicts an ultimate theoretical array density of up to 1012 bit cm−2.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15841

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