RNS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Channasandra, Bengaluru - 560 098

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

APPLIED CHEMISTRY (BCHES102)

Materials for Memory and Display Systems

Module-5
Materials for Memory and Display Systems 2024-25

Materials for Memory and Display Systems

Syllabus

MEMORY DEVICES: Introduction, Basic concepts of electronic memory, Classification of electronic

memory devices (Transistor-Type, Capacitor-Type, Resistor-Type and Charge transfer type Electronic
Memory devices) types of organic memory devices; Organic molecules (p-type semiconductor–ex.,
Pentacene; n-type ex., Perfluoropentacene used as memory materials) types of organic memory devices;
polymeric material (Polyimide as an example with Donor-Triphenylamine; Acceptor–phthalimide).

DISPLAY SYSTEMS: Photoactive and electroactive materials - Definition and principle for photoactive
and electroactive. Optoelectronic devices: Definition, working principle. Classification of LC working
principle of LED Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED’s) and Quantum Light Emitting Diodes
(QLED’s) – Mention any four Properties and applications.

MEMORY DEVICES
Memory device: A memory device is a piece of hardware used to store data. Most electronic devices
such as computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc all have a memory storage device that stores data or
programs.

Basic Concepts of Electronic Memory

An electronic memory device is a form of semiconductor storage which is fast in response and
compact in size and can be read and written when coupled with a central processing unit (CPU, a
processor). In conventional silicon-based electronic memory, data are stored based on the amount of
charge stored in the memory cells. Organic/polymer electronic memory stores data in an entirely
different way, for instance, based on different electrical conductivity states (ON and OFF states) in
response to an applied electric field. Organic/polymer electronic memory is likely to be an alternative
or at least a supplementary technology to conventional semiconductor electronic memory.

CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES

Electronic memory devices can be classified into four primary categories: transistor-type, capacitor-
type, resistor-type and charge-transfer-type based on the type of material used
1. Transistor-type
Transistor type memory utilizes transistor as the prime component for storing & accessing data.
Transistors are made from a semiconductor silicon. p-type and n-type silicon semiconductors are
fabricated by doping with trivalent and pentavalent impurities. A transistor is a miniature electronic
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component that works either as an amplifier or a switch. It consists of three terminals: base, collector
and emitter.

A computer memory chip consists of billions of transistors, each transistor is working as a switch,
which can be switched ON or OFF. Each transistor can be in two different states and store two
different numbers, ZERO and ONE. When a transistor is turned ON, it represents ONE and when it is
turned OFF, it represents ZERO. DRAM (Dynamic random access memory) is transistor type.
2. Capacitor- type
This type of memory device uses capacitors as the main components for storing and retrieving the
data’s. Capacitors have two parallel plate electrodes and energy is stored in the form of an electrical
charges in these electrodes under an applied electric field.

Data can be stored in these devices based on different charge stored in the cell. Charges stored in the
cell maintain electric polarization that can be switched between two stable states by an external
electric field. Organic and polymeric ferroelectric materials can be used in capacitor- type electronic
memory device.

3. Resistor-type
Resistor is an electronic component that limits or regulated the flow of electric current in a circuit.
Resistor-type electronic memory usually have a metal-insulator-metal configuration generally
referred to as MIM structure. The structure comprises of an insulating layer (I) sandwiched between
the two metal (M) electrodes and supported on a substrate (glass, silicon wafer, plastic, or metal foil).

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Initially, the device is under high resistance state or “OFF” and logically “0” state, when
resistance changed or under external applied field changes to low resistance state or “ON” logical
value “1”.

4. Charge transfer-type
This type of electronic device is based on the Charge Transfer Effects of a charge transfer
complex. A charge transfer (CT) complex consists of two parts, one electron donor and other an
electron acceptor. It is also called as a donor–acceptor (D–A) complex. The conductivity of a CT
complex is dependent on the ionic binding between the D–A components. In CT complex, a partial
transfer of charges occurs from donor part to the acceptor part. This results in difference in
conductivity. CT complexes exhibit bistable states due to difference in conductivity. This behavior is
used to design molecular electronic devices.

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Conventional memory devices uses inorganic semiconductors in integrated circuits such as transistors
and capacitors. In order to increase the data storage and faster access to information more components
are packed onto a single chip. Silicon based semiconductor devices become less stable below 20 nm
and the reliability to store and read individual bits of information will be substantially reduced by
severe cross-talk issues. Power consumption and unwanted heat generation is also of increased
concern. The efficiency of memory structures is measured in terms of storage capacity and the speed
of functioning. In this regard organic memory devices (OMDs) provide ideal solution and being
inexpensive and solution process ability.

Organic memory devices

Organic electronic memory device stores data based on different electrical conductivity states (ON
and OFF bistable states) in response to an applied electric field.
Types of organic memory devices
There are three classes of materials which can exhibit bistable states and are used in organic memory
devices. They are:
1) Organic molecules,
2) Polymeric materials,
3) Organic- inorganic hybrid materials.
1) Organic molecules - Small organic molecules containing both an electron donor and an
electron acceptor are an important type of material for organic electronic memory devices.
a) p-Type Organic Semiconductor Material “Pentacene”

An Organic molecule with π conjugated system and possesses holes as major charge carrier is called p-
type semiconductor.

Example: Pentacene
Pentacene is a linear aromatic hydrocarbon formed by the fusion of five benzene rings. The extended
π-system allows the continuous delocalization of π-electrons and there is a lateral over lapping of pi-
electrons between the molecules.

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To show that Pentacene is a p-Type semiconductor

Consider OTFT (Organic Thin Film Transistor) as shown above. Source and drain were made of
gold and semiconductor is Pentacene. When a Positive voltage is applied to the gate negative
charges are induced at the source electrode (Au). Since, Fermi level of gold is away from LUMO of
Pentacene, electron flow cannot take place. When a negative voltage is applied to the gate, holes are
injected from source to semiconductor because Fermi level energy of gold is close to energy of
HOMO of Pentacene. A conducting channel is formed at the insulator and semiconductor interface
and allows the movement of charge carrier’s holes from source to drain when secondary voltage is
applied. Therefore, Pentacene is considered as p-type semiconductor.
b) The n-type organic semiconducting material Perfluoropentacene
An Organic molecule with π conjugated system with electron withdrawing substituent groups and
possess electrons as major charge carrier is called n-type semiconductor.
When a p-type semiconductor Pentacene is modified with electronegative fluorine atoms to lower the
Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) energy levels of materials for electron injection and
transport. The HOMO-LUMO gaps of perfluorinated pentacene are smaller than those of the
corresponding Pentacene.

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To show that Perfluoropentacene is a n-Type semiconductor

Consider OTFT (organic Thin Film Transistor) as shown above. Source and drain were made of gold
and semiconductor was Perfluoropentacene. The HOMO-LUMO gaps are 2.07eV for pentacene and
1.95eV for perfluoropentacene. When a Positive voltage is applied to the gate negative charges are
induced at the source electrode (Au). The source and drain electrodes inject electrons in its LUMO
level. This charge forms a conducting channel at the insulator and semiconductor interface and allows
the charge carriers electron from source to drain. Therefore, perfluoropentacene is considered as n-
type semiconductor.
2) Polymer molecules for Organic memory device
A volatile memory is a type of memory which cannot sustain the two distinct electronic states
without an external electronic power supply, that is, the written data will disappear.
A non-volatile memory can sustain the two distinct states without the power supply, that is, the
written data will not disappear when an external electronic power supply is removed. Understanding
the relationship between the chemical structure and memory properties is a subject of utmost
importance in the development of polymer memory materials.
One such polymer used for organic memory device is Polyimide with Donor-Triphenyl amine and
Acceptor-phthalimide.
Donor: Triphenyl Amine group (TPA)
Acceptor: Phthalimide group
The donors and acceptors of PIs contribute to the electronic transition based on an induced charge
transfer (CT) effect under an applied electric field.

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When an electric field more than threshold energy is applied, the electrons of the HOMO (TPA unit)
is excited to LUMO. The energy of LUMO of donor and acceptor are similar and therefore, after
excitation the electron transferred to LUMO (acceptor), generating a CT state.
This permits the generation of holes in the HOMO, which produces the open channel for the charge
carriers to migrate through. Therefore, Field-induced charge transfer from triphenyl amine to
phthalimide exhibit the switching behavior (bistable states ON/OFF). This device exhibits dynamic
random-access memory (DRAM) behavior with an ON/OFF.
3) Organic-inorganic hybrid materials
Generally, organic-inorganic hybrid materials are composed of organic layers containing inorganic
materials. Inorganic materials used are allotropes of carbon like fullerenes, carbon nanotubes,
graphene and metal nanoparticles, semiconductor nanoparticles and inorganic quantum dots (QDs).
a) Organic-Carbon Allotrope Hybrid Materials
Polymers containing electron donors, such as thiophene, fluorene, carbazole and aniline derivatives
can be combined with Fullerenes to obtain a charge transfer hybrid material with donor-acceptor
ability and electrical bistable states. Fullerenes exhibit high electron-withdrawing ability and can
capture up to six electrons. They are used in WORM memory effect devices.
b) Organic-Inorganic Nanocomposites
These are the hybrid electronic memory devices in which organic polymer with appropriate
functional group is clubbed with metal nanoparticles, quantum dots and metal oxide nanoparticles.
An example is a composite of 8-hydroxyquinoline-containing polymer with gold nanoparticle
sandwiched between two metal electrodes. Bistable electronic transition states are observed when an
electric field is applied due to charge transfer between the Au nanoparticles and 8-hydroxy-
quinoline.

DISPLAY SYSTEMS
Display: Display is an output device used to present visual information.
Optoelectronics is the communication between optics and electronics, which includes the study,
design and fabrication of a hardware device.
Optoelectronic devices: These are electronic device that can emit and detect light, making them
capable of converting electrical signals into optical signal (light) and vice versa. These devices
leverage the interaction between light and semiconductors to perform various functions, such as
generation, modulation, amplification and detection of light.

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Optoelectronic devices are primarily transducers. They can also detect light and transform light signals
to electrical signals for processing by a computer. When the photons of larger energy than the energy
gap, the photon will be absorbed by the semiconductor, exciting an electron from the valence band
into the conduction band, where it is free to move. A free hole is left behind in the valence band.
When the excited electron is returning to valence band, excess photon energy is emitted in the form a
light. This principle is used in Optoelectronic devices.
Photoactive and electro active organic materials:
Photoactive materials are substances that can absorb light energy and convert it into another form of
energy usually electrical energy. When these materials are exposed to light, they generate electro-hole
pairs (excitons) due to the absorption of photons. These excitons can lead to various photo induced
processes such as charge separation, charge transport etc.
Electroactive materials are substances that can respond to electrical stimuli, such as voltage or current
by undergoing a change in their physical, chemical or mechanical properties.
Photoactive and electroactive organic materials are the semiconductors composed of of π- electron
systems.
Working Principle
Photoactive and electroactive material absorb and emit light in the UV to IR region.
Display system (OLED) consisting of photoactive and electroactive material absorb light and allows
an electron to jump from HOMO of a Donor to LUMO of an Acceptor. This phenomenon generates
and transport charge carriers.
In an OLED device, the light-emitting layer is excited by the recombination energy of electrons from
the cathode and holes from the anode, and then the light-emitting layer emits light when returning to
the ground state. One of the electrodes consists of transparent material in order to extract light from
the light emitting layer.

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LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS

The liquid crystals are a unique state of matter between solid (crystalline) and liquid
(isotropic) phases.
Classification of Liquid crystal
Liquid crystals are classified into two main categories, namely,
1. Thermotropic Liquid Crystals 2. Lyotropic Liquid Crystals

1.Thermotropic Liquid Crystals:

A liquid crystal is said to be thermotropic if molecules orientation is dependent on the temperature. By
increasing the temperature, the increase in energy and there by movement of constituent molecules,
will induce phase changes.

Thermotropic liquid crystals may be further classified as:

a) Nematic liquid crystals
b) Chiral Nematic liquid crystals
c) Smectic liquid crystals
d) Discotic Liquid Crystalline Phase

a) Nematic liquid crystals (or thread-like liquid crystals)

The molecules move either sideways or up and down. Since the molecules are oriented in one
direction, they exhibit anisotropy. In this case, the molecules are readily aligned in the same direction
in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. The alignment of molecules is temperature sensitive
– as the temperature is increased, the degree of orientation of the nematic crystals decreases and they
change into isotropic liquids.
Examples: p-azoxy phenetole, anisaldazine.
b) Chiral (Twisted) Nematic liquid crystals
In chiral nematic or twisted nematic liquid crystals (TNLC) all the molecules are roughly parallel to
one another, the molecules in the chiral nematic phase arrange themselves to form a helical
configuration.
Examples: cholesteryl format, cholesteryl myristate, and cholesteryl benzoate.

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c) Smectic liquid crystals

Substances that form smectic phases are soap-like (in Greek, smectos means soap).
In smectic liquid crystals, there is a small amount of orientational order and also a small amount of
positional order. The molecules are arranged in regularly spaced layers (positional order). Within the
layer they tend to point along the director (orientational order).
Examples: 4-cyanobenzylidene-4-n-octyloxyanaline.

d) Discotic Liquid Crystalline Phase

Molecules with a disk- or plate-like structure demonstrate the liquid crystal phase. These are known as
columnar or discotic liquid crystals. In the centre region, these molecules have stiff structures like
benzene and triphenylene. Because there is orientational order but no positional order in the simplest
discotic phase, it is often referred to as the discotic nematic phase.

2. Lyotropic Liquid Crystals

The orientational behavior of lyotropic crystals is a function of concentration and solvent. These
molecules are amphiphilic–they have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends in their molecules. The
hydrophilic end is attracted towards water, whereas the hydrophobic end is water repellent and
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attracted towards non-polar solvents. At low concentrations, these molecules are randomly oriented
but as the concentration increases, the molecules start arranging themselves.
Examples: Cell membranes and cell walls. And soaps and detergents form lyotropic crystals when
they combine with water.

Properties of liquid crystals

a) They exhibit optical anisotropy which is defined as the difference between refractive index
parallel to the director and refractive index perpendicular to the director. These two properties
are important for the electro-optic effects in liquid crystals.
b) The inter molecular forces are rather weak and can be perturbed by an applied electric field.

c) Because the molecules are polar, they interact with an electric field, which causes them to
change their orientation slightly.

d) Liquid Crystal can flow like a liquid, due to loss of positional order.

e) Liquid crystal is optically birefringent, due to its orientation order.

f) Liquid crystals, like all other kinds of matter, exhibits thermal expansion (Thermal Imaging).

Applications of liquid crystals in display systems

Liquid crystal displays operate at low voltages (a few volts) and consume less power as compared to
other display and hence are used in various fields, including electronics, optics, displays, sensors, and
medicine. Some of the major applications of liquid crystals are:
1. Watches, calculators, mobile telephones, laptop computers and related electronic gadgets.
2. Indicators in automobile dashboards, airplane cockpits, traffic signals, advertisement
boards and petrol pump indicators.
3. Blood pressure instruments, digital thermometers, and TV channel indicators.
4. pH meters, conductometers, colorimeters, potentiometers, and other analytical instruments.

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LED (Light Emitting Diode)

LED (Light Emitting Diode) is an optoelectronic device which works on the principle of electro-
luminance. Electro-luminance is the property of the material to convert electrical energy into light
energy. When current passes through an LED, the electrons recombine with holes emitting light in the
process. LEDs allow the current to flow in the forward direction and blocks the current in the reverse
direction.
Construction:
1. The three semiconductor layers deposited on the substrate are n-type semiconductor, p-
type semiconductor and active region.

2. Active region is present in between the n-type and p-type semiconductor layers.

3. When LED is forward biased, free electrons from n-type semiconductor and holes from p-type
semiconductor are pushed towards the active region.

4. When free electrons from n-type and holes from p-type recombine with the opposite charge
carriers (free electrons with holes or holes with free electrons) in active region, an invisible or
visible light is emitted.

5. In LED, most of the charge carriers recombine at active region. Therefore, most of the light is
emitted by the active region.

Working Principle of LED

The light emitting diode works like a normal PN-junction diode. When the diode is forward biased, then
the current flows through the diode. The flow of current in the semiconductors is caused by the both flow
of holes in the opposite direction of current and flow of electrons in the direction of the current. Hence
there will be recombination due to the flow of these charge carriers.

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The recombination indicates that the electrons in the conduction band jump down to the valence band.
When the electrons jump from one band to another the electrons will emit the electromagnetic energy in
the form of photons.
LED applications
1. LED is used as a bulb in the homes and industries
2. Burglar alarms systems
3. Calculators
4. Picture phones
5. Traffic signals
6. Digital computers
7. Multimeters
8. Microprocessors
9. Digital watches

Organic light emitting diodes (OLED’s)

“OLEDs are thin film devices consisting of a stack of organic layers sandwiched between two
electrodes. OLEDs operate by converting electrical current into light via an organic emitter”.
It comprises of two or three organic layers like conducting layer, emissive layer and other layers such as
substrate, anode and cathode layers. When Direct Current is applied, charge carriers from the anode and
cathode are injected into organic layers and light is emitted.

Structure of OLED
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Substrate Layer: This layer is a thin sheet of glass with a transparent conductive layer. It supports
OLED structure.
Anode Layer: This layer is an active layer and removes electrons. When current flows through this
device, electrons are replaced by electron holes.
Conductive Layer: Also known as the hole transport layer as it transports hole from anode layer. This
layer is made up of organic polymer. The conductive polymer used in OLED are polyaniline,
polyethylene-dioxythiophene.
Emissive layer: This layer transports electrons from anode layers, and it is made of organic polymer
molecules that are different from the conducting layers. In these two polymers are used for emitting
such as polyfluorene, poly para phenylene which normally emits green and blue lights.
Cathode Layer: Cathode layer is responsible for injection of electrons when current flows through the
device.
Working principle of OLED:
The working principle of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is that electrons and holes recombine in
the emissive layer to produce photons, or light.
 When voltage is applied to an OLED, electrons are injected from the cathode and holes are injected
from the anode.
 The electrons and holes move to the emissive layer and recombine.
 The organic materials in the emissive layer are excited to a high energy state.
 When the layer returns to a stable state, the excess energy is released as light.

Properties of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED’s)

1) OLED devices have solid and planar structure. Therefore, OLED display panels are very thin,
flat and lightweight.
2) OLED devices have self-emission property and hence their devices have high contrast
ratios and wide viewing angles, which are very significant factors for displays.
3) The response time of OLEDs is as fast as micro- or nanosecond order. Therefore, OLED
displays can produce sharp moving images.
4) OLEDs have a wide viewing angle, which means that the image quality is maintained even
when viewed from different angles.
5) OLEDs are energy efficient, as they do not require a back light like traditional LCD
displays, resulting in lower power consumption.
6) OLEDs are self-emissive, which means that they do not require a separate light source,
resulting in a thinner display.
7) OLEDs have a long lifespan, as they do not contain a back light that can degrade over time,
resulting in a longer-lasting display.

Application of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED’s)

1) OLED displays are used in televisions, monitors, smartphones, and other electronic devices.
2) OLEDs can also be used as a source of lighting in various applications, including
automotive lighting, street lighting, and architectural lighting.
3) The thin and flexible nature of OLEDs makes them suitable for use in wearable devices,
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such as smart watches and fitness trackers.
4) OLEDs can be used in automotive applications, such as dashboard displays, and interior
lighting.
5) OLEDs can be used in medical applications, such as in surgical lighting and medical imaging.
6) They offer bright and highly accurate lighting options that can help improve medical
procedures and diagnosis.

Quantum Dot- light emitting diodes (QD-LEDs)

Quantum dot light emitting diodes are a form of light emitting technology and consist of nano-
scale crystals that can provide an alternative for applications such as display technology”. The
structure of QD-LED is like the fundamental design of OLED. But the difference is that the light
emitting is from the QDs, such as cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals.
QLEDs use quantum dots (QDs), which are nanocrystals made of semiconductor materials, to produce
different colors of light. The size of the particle determines the color of light it emits, with larger
particles appearing red and smaller particles appearing blue. QLEDs can cover up to 135% of the color
spectrum, which provides a high dynamic range viewing experience.
Working principle of OLED:
Quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) work by using an electric current to create light through a
semiconductor material. The working principle of QLEDs is as follows:
Basically, a QD layer is sandwiched between electron and hole transporting materials. An applied electric
field causes electrons and holes to move into the QD layer where they recombine forming excitons and
emitting photons.

Properties of QD-LED
1. QD-LEDs are capable of producing highly accurate and vibrant colors due to their use of
quantum dots, which emit light of a specific color when they are excited by a light source or an
electrical current.
2. QD-LEDs are more energy-efficient than traditional LCD displays because they do not require
as much back lighting.
3. QD-LED displays have high contrast ratios, which means that the difference between the
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darkest and brightest areas of the display is greater, resulting in more detailed and life like
images.
4. QD-LEDs have a longer lifespan than traditional LCD displays because they do not suffer
from the same issues of back light burn out or color fading over time.
5. QD-LEDs displays have fast response times, which means that they can display fast- moving
images without motion blur or ghosting.
6. QD-LEDs can be made on flexible substrates, which allows for the creation of flexible displays
that can be bent or curved.

Applications of QD-LED

1. QD-LED displays are commonly used in televisions, monitors, smartphones, and other electronic
devices. They offer superior image quality and color accuracy compared to traditional LCD
displays.
2. QD-LEDs can also be used as a source of lighting in various applications, including automotive
lighting, street lighting, and architectural lighting. They offer energy-efficient and highly
customizable lighting options.
3. QD-LEDs can be used in medical imaging applications, such as in MRI machines, to produce
high-resolution and accurate images.

4. QD-LED displays are suitable for use in virtual and augmented reality applications due to their
ability to produce vibrant and accurate colors, which can enhance the immersive experience.
5. QD-LED displays can be used in advertising displays, such as digital billboards and signage, to
produce high-quality and eye-catching visuals.

QUESTIONS
1. What are Memory Devices? Explain the Classification of electronic memory devices.
2. Explain the types of organic memory devices by taking p- type and n-type semiconductor
materials.
3. Explain how Polymeric materials used in Organic memory device.
4. Write a note organic-inorganic hybrid material.
5. What are photoactive and electroactive materials used in display systems.
6. Explain how Organic materials are used in Optoelectronic devices.
7. What are liquid crystals, explain its classification, properties and applications.
8. Explain the working principle, properties and applications of Light Emitting Diodes (LED).
9. Explain the working principle, properties and applications of Organic Light Emitting Diodes
(OLED’s).
10. Explain the working principle, properties and applications of Quantum Dot Light Emitting

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