Biomaterial-Based Nonvolatile Resistive Memory Devices toward Ecofriendliness and Biocompatibility

Advancement in electronic industry has revolutionized the lifestyle of mankind at the cost of leaving adverse effects on the environment due to the use of toxic and nondegradable functional materials abundantly used in various electronic devices. The use of biomaterials in electronic devices with attractive properties is by far the best solution for protecting our environment from hazardous materials without compromising the growth of the electronic industry. Biomaterials are environmentally friendly and biocompatible with the added advantages of easy processing, transparency, flexibility, abundant resources, sustainability, recyclability, and simple extraction. This Review targets the characteristics, advancements, role, limitations, and prospects of using biomaterials as the functional layer of a resistive random-access memory (RRAM) device with a primary focus on the electronic properties of bio-RRAMs. Among the available memory devices, RRAMs have a huge potential to become the nonvolatile memory of the next generation owing to their simple structure, high scalability, and low power consumption. Applications of using biomaterial-based RRAMs have also been discussed including mimicking the human brain, fabricating wearable memory devices, and implanting bio-RRAMs. The motivation behind this work is to promote the use of biomaterials in electronic devices and attract researchers toward a green solution of hazardous problems associated with the electronic industry.