3/21/2014Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

Open menu

Import From China globalmarket.comInquire for Low er Prices in China Contact Quality Manufacturers Now

HomeNews

Nano DatabasesNano Business

Nano JobsResources

Introduction to Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology SpotlightBehind the buzz and beyond the hype:Our Nanowerk-exclusive feature articles

Search

Posted: Oct 25, 2013

Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory(Nanowerk Spotlight) Future electronics will look nothing like today's rigid metal and plastic boxes, be they the latest smartphones, tablets, digital cameras or any other computer device. Instead, they will be extremely light, soft, flexible, transparent, and integrated into everyday objects like paper, clothes, leather gloves, diapers, or packaging material (read more:"Nanotechnology electronics at the tip of your gloved finger"). If you want to go really futuristic, think electronic skin, health monitor tattoos on teeth ("Graphene nanosensor

tattoo on teeth monitors bacteria in your mouth"), or sensor films placed directly onto internal organs (see: "Electronic sensing with your fingertips").

These advanced electronic systems will be fabricated on soft substrates by integrating multiple

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 1/8

3/21/2014Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

crucial components such as logic and memory devices as well as their power supply. Organic memory with a simple sandwich structure has been considered a promising information storage element in future soft electronics for its exceptional merits such as low production cost, mechanical elasticity, flexibility, low-temperature processing and roll-to-roll printability. However, so far, rewritable organic memories have been fabricated mostly on rigid, flat, and smooth substrates, such as metal, glass, plastic and silicon, which greatly limits their superior soft and flexible merits.

Due to the fact that organic films are often fabricated by solution processes – i.e., spin-coating or ink-jet printing – there exists a great hurdle in constructing flexible organic memory in stack or 3D architecture. The reason for this is that the use of solution processes can result in severe damage to the bottom soft organic device or substrate arising from the solvent used for the vertical integration of the subsequent devices.

Therefore, for future applications, it is essential to establish a proper fabrication strategy for rewritable organic memory onto diverse substrates or devices.

In new work, a team of researchers in Taiwan has reported a methodology to overcome the above-mentioned challenges. Reporting their work in the October 18, 2013 online

edition of Advanced Functional Materials ( "Rewritable, Moldable, and Flexible Sticker-

Type Organic Memory on Arbitrary Substrates" ), the team has, for the first time,

successfully demonstrated a rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory on arbitrary nonconventional substrates through a simple, low-temperature and cost-effective one-step methodology.

1) Schematic of the fabrication processes for the sticker-type organic memory. b)

Arrangement for electrical measurement of re-writable sticker-type organic memory along with the chemical

structures of PMMA and P3HT. c) Photo of as-prepared re-writable sticker-type

organic memory under bending. (Reprinted with permission from

Wiley-VCH Verlag)

The researchers demonstrate that this re-writable organic memory can be simply stuck on various desired substrates, including rigid, flexible, non-planar, and rough substrates, and so forth, promising that the information storage devices can be greatly broadened in diversified future applications.

"Compared to traditional bottom-up solution processes for organic bistable memory, the

advantages of our transferable and flexible memory device include several unique aspects," Yang-Fang Chen , a professor in the Department of Physics at National Taiwan University, tells

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 2/8

3/21/2014Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

Nanowerk. "Most importantly, the transferable and self-adhered features of the organic memory pave an easy route to vertically integrate digital organic memories with other flexible organic devices with minimal solvent issue; hence harsh synthesis and unaccustomed fabrication steps on non-conventional substrates can be avoided."

Secondly, as Chen notes, the combination of organic memory and protective layer for transferring graphene electrode eliminated the need for chemical treatment processes for the graphene’s protective layer. With the flexible and adhesive graphene-electrode underlay, the presented memory can be simply molded and functioned on desired non-conventional substrates, including non-planar and soft ones. This versatile substrate selection advantage might greatly broaden memory applications.

Thirdly, considering the cost-effective production and because both the organic materials and the bottom CVD-graphene possess the capability for roll-to-roll processes, the resulting memory is suitable for industrial large-area printing manufacture.

CVD-grown graphene with a unique ultrathin feature is a crucial conductive material in this novel label-like memory. Due to its good conductivity, mechanical flexibility together with low-cost and capability for roll-to-roll fabricating features, the researchers chose it as their flexible conductive layer for the organic memory.

"In particular" says Chen, "utilization of its astonishing mechanical properties and strong attractive interfacial adhesion force make CVD-grown graphene an ideal interfacial electrode for adhering to non-conventional surfaces and flexible electronic applications. Moreover, its unique ultrathin characteristic can significantly reduce our device thickness, which is beneficial for adhesion and bending operation."

Thanks to its combination of low fabrication cost, facile processes, and mechanical flexibility combined with high-speed electrical access capability, application areas for this flexible memory could potentially be found in low-cost digital information storage area such as smart labels, e-tags, and portable disks. By introducing an antenna circuit it could be accessed wirelessly. Also, it is nonvolatile, which means it can keep the data without a battery.

By Michael Berger . Copyright © Nanowerk

Subscribe! Receive a convenient email notification whenever a new Nanowerk

Nanotechnology Spotlight posts.

Become a Spotlight guest author! Have you just published a scientific paper or have other exciting developments to share with the

nanotechnology community? Let us know .

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 3/8

3/21/2014 Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

Nanotechnology Spotlights

Stretchable energy storage and conversionAnti -icing strategies inspired by nanotechnology and biology Posted: Mar 20, 2014 Posted: Mar 18, 2014

Making cells 'throw up' nanomaterials to rescue them from apoptosisFlexible silicon-on-polymer sub-20 nm FinFETs without performance loss

Posted: Mar 12, 2014 Posted: Mar 11, 2014 Self-healing carbon nanotube supercapacitorsGraphene yarns facilitate energy storage textiles

Posted: Mar 10, 2014 Posted: Mar 07, 2014 AFM and Raman spectroscopy-correlated imaging and tip enhanced Raman scattering

Posted: Mar 06, 2014 A Google Glass app for instant medical diagnostics (w/video)Ingenuity the key to a promising new oral influenza vaccine

Posted: Mar 04, 2014 Posted: Mar 03, 2014 Conductive nanomaterials for printed electronics applicationsOrigami foldable solar cells (w/video)

Posted: Feb 27, 2014 Posted: Feb 26, 2014 Top 10 developments in nanodermatology in 2013Ferroelectric nanoparticle-doped liquid crystal - a nonvolatile multi-stable memory functionPosted: Feb 24, 2014 Posted: Feb 19, 2014 Nanoparticles with tunable density derived from an atomic metal-dispersed precursorNanotechnology needle arrays for drug deliveryPosted: Feb 18, 2014 Posted: Feb 13, 2014 Flexible and semitransparent silicon electronics (w/video)Brain jelly - design and construction of an organic, brain-like computerPosted: Feb 11, 2014 Posted: Feb 10, 2014

Origami batteries for deformable electronics (w/video)Integrated optical and AFM metrologyNanotechnology is getting closer to 3D nanoprinting

Posted: Feb 07, 2014 Posted: Feb 06, 2014 Posted: Feb 05, 2014 Researchers report revolutionary technique to prepare nanowires (w/video)Ingenuity attracts attention with biomining advancesPosted: Feb 04, 2014 Posted: Feb 03, 2014 Electronic nose with artificial sensing intelligenceNanotechnology primer: graphene - properties, uses and applications

Posted: Jan 30, 2014 Posted: Jan 29, 2014 Nanotechnology biosensor to detect biomarkers for Parkinson's diseaseActive microfluidic chips inkjet-printed on normal paper

Posted: Jan 27, 2014Posted: Jan 23, 2014

Nanopaper optimized for solar cellsWater pinning nanostructures inspired by naturePosted: Jan 22, 2014 Posted: Jan 14, 2014

Gold nanorods can mediate photodynamic effects at near-infrared light READ MORE SPOTLIGHTS

Posted: Jan 13, 2014

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 4/8

3/21/2014 Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 5/8

3/21/2014 Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 6/8

3/21/2014Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

Follow @Nanowerk

Nanotechnology Home | Privacy statement | Terms of use | Contact us | What is Nanotechnology?

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 7/8

3/21/2014Rewritable, transferable, and flexible sticker-type organic memory

| Sitemap | Advertise | RSS The contents of this site are copyright ©2014 Nanowerk. All Rights Reserved

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=32919.php 8/8