High Performance Capacitors and Nonvolatile Memories based on Langmuir-Blodgett Films of Ferroelectric Polymers

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate and evaluate two device concepts incorporating ferroelectric polymer Langmuir-Blodgett films: high-performance capacitors and nonvolatile data storage elements. Both device concepts take advantage of unique dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Langmuir-Blodgett films of polyvinylidene fluoride and its copolymers. The high-performance capacitors benefit from the record dielectric strength of over 3 GV/m in the highly uniform films as thin as 1 nm. The energy storage density of multilayer capacitors made from the ferroelectric polymer LB films is expected to reach 200 to 1000 Joules per cubic centimeter. The fast switch speed of 2 microseconds and the ability to deposit the films on a variety of substrates permits the fabrication of inexpensive of hybrid nonvolatile data storage devices composed of a ferroelectric polymer LB film deposited directly on an array of planar field-effect transistor. Though each device concept may independently prove suitable for practical application, they may prove particularly useful together in combination with conventional integrated circuits for the production of nonvolatile random-access memories, caches, and archival storage. This project is a natural spin-off of five years of study and development of the only reported two-dimensional ferroelectrics, research conducted jointly by the PI's group in collaboration with two groups at the Institute of Crystallography in Moscow.