Towards addressable organic impedance switch devices

The addressability of organic impedance switch devices as the memory elements of cross-point matrices is improved by introducing nonlinear behavior in their current-voltage characteristics. This is realized by adding a semiconducting layer of copper (II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) on top of the switch layer of Rose Bengal (RB) sodium salt. Leakage currents from unaddressed cells in a matrix are reduced by a factor of 17; thus improving the signal-to-background ratio, reducing driver currents and limiting the potential drop along the addressing lines. The matrix size of RB switch devices, using organic conductors, is predicted to be increased by 32 times when using the additional CuPc layer. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.