Solid-Polymer-Electrolyte-Based Atomic
Switches
Tohru Tsuruoka, Karthik Krishnan, Saumya R. Mohapatra, Shouming Wu,
and Masakazu Aono
Abstract The atomic switch operation is demonstrated using a solid polymer
electrolyte (SPE) as a matrix material. Similar to inorganic electrolyte-based atomic
switches, SPE-based atomic switches exhibit not only bi-stable resistive switching
but also quantized conductance. The high ionic conductivity of SPE enables us to
directly observe filament growth behaviors even in micrometer-scaled devices, and
to reveal the kinetic factors determining the filament growth processes. We also
succeed in fabricating devices on a plastic substrate using an ink-jet technique, and
to demonstrate stable resistive switching under substrate bending. All the results
indicate that the SPE-based atomic switch has great potential for the development
flexible switch/memory devices as well as new types of atomic-scale devices with
high-speed operation and ultra-low power consumption.
1 Introduction
Over the last decades, organic and polymer switching memories have become
attractive as an emerging research topic in electronics, because they become alternatives to, or supplement, current memory technologies based on inorganic semiconductor materials [1]. In general, organic materials exhibit significant advantages
over inorganic materials in that their dimensions are easily scalable, they are readily
T. Tsuruoka (*) · M. Aono
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials
Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
e-mail: TSURUOKA.Tohru@nims.go.jp
K. Krishnan
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Central Electrochemical Research Institute,
Karaikudi, India
S. R. Mohapatra
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Cachar Silchar, India
S. Wu
Zhejiang Fluoride and Silicon Research Institute, Quzhou National Hi-Tech Industrial
Development Zone, Quzhou, Zhejiang, China
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. Aono (ed.), Atomic Switch, Advances in Atom and Single Molecule Machines,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34875-5_8
139
Switches
Tohru Tsuruoka, Karthik Krishnan, Saumya R. Mohapatra, Shouming Wu,
and Masakazu Aono
Abstract The atomic switch operation is demonstrated using a solid polymer
electrolyte (SPE) as a matrix material. Similar to inorganic electrolyte-based atomic
switches, SPE-based atomic switches exhibit not only bi-stable resistive switching
but also quantized conductance. The high ionic conductivity of SPE enables us to
directly observe filament growth behaviors even in micrometer-scaled devices, and
to reveal the kinetic factors determining the filament growth processes. We also
succeed in fabricating devices on a plastic substrate using an ink-jet technique, and
to demonstrate stable resistive switching under substrate bending. All the results
indicate that the SPE-based atomic switch has great potential for the development
flexible switch/memory devices as well as new types of atomic-scale devices with
high-speed operation and ultra-low power consumption.
1 Introduction
Over the last decades, organic and polymer switching memories have become
attractive as an emerging research topic in electronics, because they become alternatives to, or supplement, current memory technologies based on inorganic semiconductor materials [1]. In general, organic materials exhibit significant advantages
over inorganic materials in that their dimensions are easily scalable, they are readily
T. Tsuruoka (*) · M. Aono
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials
Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
e-mail: TSURUOKA.Tohru@nims.go.jp
K. Krishnan
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Central Electrochemical Research Institute,
Karaikudi, India
S. R. Mohapatra
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Cachar Silchar, India
S. Wu
Zhejiang Fluoride and Silicon Research Institute, Quzhou National Hi-Tech Industrial
Development Zone, Quzhou, Zhejiang, China
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. Aono (ed.), Atomic Switch, Advances in Atom and Single Molecule Machines,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34875-5_8
139