Flexible, transferable and conformal egg albumen based resistive switching memory devices

Abstract

We demonstrated flexible, transferable and conformal resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices based on an egg albumen switching layer, which presented reliable memory performance with long retention time (10⁴ s), fast switching speed (∼75 ns), and high mechanical endurance (10⁴ bending cycles). The switching mechanism was attributed to the formation and dissolution of discrete Ag nanoclusters rather than continuous Ag filaments inside the albumen film through the redox reaction of the Ag top electrode (TE). Furthermore, using a simple water-dissolution method, free-standing memory devices were obtained and transferred onto nonconventional substrates to demonstrate diversified features, such as PDMS for conformal electronics, a glass dome hemisphere for a 3-D surface and a leaf for biodegradable application. This study is beneficial in the development of natural materials based RRAM devices for future flexible applications.