Polymer electrets for organic nonvolatile memory devices: Recent advances

Compared to conventional electronics, organic electronics enjoy advantages such as mechanical flexibility, amenability to low-cost processing, and facile tunability of optoelectronic properties via rational molecular design. Within organic electronics, organic (photo)memory has emerged as a sub-area of considerable interest over the last decade. Besides the organic semiconductor, the other critical component of organic transistor-based memory devices is the polymer electret. Polymer electrets form the charge-trapping dielectric layer that is key to the function of memory devices. Like semiconductors, polymer electrets can also be rationally tailored at the molecular level to render optimal properties. To date, there have been many intriguing classes of polymers developed for memory applications. In this review, we present notable recent advances featuring structurally diverse polymer electrets in organic (photo)memory devices. Four categories of polymers will be discussed: (1) pendent sidechain polymers, (2) it-conjugated polymers, (3) block copolymers, and (4) other polymeric systems.