Optical Input/Electrical Output Memory Elements based on a Liquid Crystalline Azobenzene Polymer.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanoscience

Background:

• Responsive polymer materials exhibit tunable properties upon external stimuli.
• Azobenzene-containing polymers are known for photoresponsive behavior.
• Light-programmable memory offers novel data storage solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore poly(metha)acrylate/azobenzene polymer thin films for light-programmable memory.
• To investigate the relationship between photoisomerization, film morphology, and electrical conductance.
• To demonstrate a reversible, light-induced memory effect.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of thin films of thermotropic poly(metha)acrylate/azobenzene polymers.
• Utilizing azobenzene photoisomerization (trans ↔ cis) to induce morphological changes.
• Measuring film conductivity in two-terminal devices with Au and E-GaIn contacts.

Main Results:

• Photoisomerization induced reversible mesoscopic surface reorganization and reduced film thickness.
• A reversible 100-fold change in film conductance was observed.
• Devices could be switched between high- and low-resistance states using light irradiation.

Conclusions:

• Poly(metha)acrylate/azobenzene polymer films exhibit a light-induced memory effect.
• The observed conductance change is linked to light-driven morphological modifications.
• These findings suggest potential applications in optical input/electrical output memory elements.