Electrical bistability in a composite of polymer and barium titanate nanoparticles

Growth in the use of organic materials in the fabrication of electronic devices is on the rise. Recently, some attempts have been undertaken to manufacture polymer memory devices. Such devices are fabricated by depositing a blend (an admixture of organic polymer, small organic molecules and nanoparticles) between two metal electrodes. These devices show two electrical conductivity states ('high' and 'low') when a voltage is applied, thus rendering the structures suitable for data retention. In this paper, we describe an attempt to fabricate memory devices using ferroelectric nanoparticles embedded in an organic polymer. This paper also discusses issues related to the observed memory effect.