Recent advancements in modern microelectronics continuously increase the data storage capacity of modern devices, but they require delicate and costly fabrication processes. As alternatives to conventional inorganic based semiconductors, semiconducting polymers are of academic and industrial interest for their cost-efficiency, power efficiency, and flexible processability. Here, we have synthesized a series of novel oxygen-based polymers through the postmodification reactions of poly(ethylene-alt-maleate) with various oxybenzyl alcohol derivatives. The oxygen-based polymers are thermally stable up to 180 °C, and their nanoscale film devices exhibit reliable, power efficient p-type unipolar volatile and nonvolatile resistive memory characteristics with high ON/OFF current ratios. Additionally, when given a higher number of oxygen atoms in oxyphenyl side groups, the thin film polymer devices demonstrate a wide operational film thickness range. The memory characteristics depend on the oxyphenyl moieties functioning as charge trap sites, where a combination of Schottky emission and trap-limited space charge limited conductions in OFF-state and hopping conduction in ON-state are observed. This study demonstrates the chemical incorporation of oxyphenyl derivatives into polymer dielectrics as a powerful development tool for p-type resistive memory materials.
Keywords: electroactive oxygen-based polymers; hopping conduction; nonvolatile and volatile memory; oxyphenyl charge trap sites; p-type resistive memory.