Field-dependent, organics assistant filamentary mechanism in both vertical and planar organic memories

Abstract The forming/destruction mechanism of conducting filament is essential in understanding the behavior of resistance-memory device. On the basis of filamentary theory, we systematically studied the different electrical performances of both planar and vertical sandwich (metal/organic/metal) memory devices. Bias induced morphological change in gap devices are monitored using scanning electron microscopy system equipped with probes. The in situ images directly demonstrate that with bias increasing, metal clusters emerge inside the channel and further cause sudden switching of device resistance. After clarifying the roles of electrodes and sandwiched organic layer, we conclude a field-dependent filament formation and organics-assistant filament destruction mechanism for resistance memory phenomenon, which should generally exist in all organic electronic devices with metal electrodes.