Electroforming-free flexible organic resistive random access memory based on a nanocomposite of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and orange dye with a low threshold voltage

Abstract The charge trapping characteristics of an organic nanocomposite based on two polymers, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and orange dye (OD), were investigated by fabricating a sandwiched structure on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate. The fabricated flexible organic device with a configuration of silver (Ag)/P3HT–OD/Ag displayed highly stable results consistent with a bipolar non-volatile resistive random access memory (RRAM) device using simple and controllable fabrication technology. It was observed that by the addition of OD, low threshold voltages ( V th ) of V set = 1.5 V and V reset = −1.5 V were achieved owing to the values of work function and energy bandgap of the materials used. Electrical rewritable effects of the fabricated memory device were tested for 10 2 voltage sweeps and 10 4 s without any considerable degradation of its bistable resistive states. The switching mechanism was considered to be space charge limited current and this was verified by plotting the double logarithmic I – V curve. This is the first RRAM device based on P3HT polymer whose mechanical robustness has been tested for its mechanical robustness by bending it for 25 bending cycles at a bending diameter ranging from 15 cm to 5 cm without any considerable change in its properties. This finding offers important guidelines for reproducing next-generation flexible organic nanocomposite-based memory devices that are simple to fabricate and have low operating voltages and highly stable memory behavior.