Bistability

About: Bistability is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 12251 publications have been published within this topic receiving 227528 citations. The topic is also known as: bistable.

Electrical Switching and Bistability in Organic/Polymeric Thin Films and Memory Devices

Abstract: Recently, films created by incorporating metallic nanoparticles into organic or polymeric materials have demonstrated electrical bistability, as well as the memory effect, when subjected to an electrical bias. Organic and polymeric digital memory devices based on this bistable electronic behavior have emerged as a viable technology in the field of organic electronics. These devices exhibit fast response speeds and can form multiple-layer stacking structures, demonstrating that organic memory devices possess a high potential to become flexible, ultrafast, and ultrahigh-density memory devices. This behavior is believed to be related to charge storage in the organic or polymer film, where devices are able to exhibit two different states of conductivity often separated by several orders of magnitude. By defining the two states as “1” and “0”, it is now possible to create digital memory devices with this technology. This article reviews electrically bistable devices developed in our laboratory. Our research has stimulated strong interest in this area worldwide. The research by other laboratories is reviewed as well.

The quantum well self-electrooptic effect device: Optoelectronic bistability and oscillation, and self-linearized modulation

Abstract: We report extended experimental and theoretical results for the quantum well self-electrooptic effect devices. Four modes of operation are demonstrated: 1) optical bistability, 2) electrical bistability, 3) simultaneous optical and electronic self-oscillation, and 4) self-linearized modulation and optical level shifting. All of these can be observed at room-temperature with a CW laser diode as the light source. Bistability can be observed with 18 nW of incident power, or with 30 ns switching time at 1.6 mW with a reciprocal relation between switching power and speed. We also now report bistability with low electrical bias voltages (e.g., 2 V) using a constant current load. Negative resistance self-oscillation is observed with an inductive load; this imposes a self-modulation on the transmitted optical beam. With current bias, self-linearized modulation is obtained, with absorbed optical power linearly proportional to current. This is extended to demonstrate light-by-light modulation and incoherent-to-incoherent conversion using a separate photodiode. The nature of the optoelectronic feedback underlying the operation of the devices is discussed, and the physical mechanisms which give rise to the very low optical switching energy (∼4 fJ/ μm2) are discussed.

Time Delay in the Kuramoto Model of Coupled Oscillators

Abstract: We generalize the Kuramoto model of coupled oscillators to allow time-delayed interactions. New phenomena include bistability between synchronized and incoherent states, and unsteady solutions with time-dependent order parameters. We derive exact formulas for the stability boundaries of the incoherent and synchronized states, as a function of the delay, in the special case where the oscillators are identical. The experimental implications of the model are discussed for populations of chirping crickets, where the finite speed of sound causes communication delays, and for physical systems such as coupled phase-locked loops or lasers.

Organic electrical bistable devices and rewritable memory cells

Abstract: Electrical bistability is a phenomenon in which a device exhibits two states of different conductivities, at the same applied voltage. We report an organic electrical bistable device (OBD) comprising of a thin metal layer embedded within the organic material, as the active medium [L. P. Ma, J. Liu, and Y. Yang, US Patent Pending, (2001)]. The performance of this device makes it attractive for memory-cell type of applications. The two states of the OBD differ in their conductivity by several orders in magnitude and show remarkable stability, i.e., once the device reaches either state, it tends to remain in that state for a prolonged period of time. More importantly, the high and low conductivity states of an OBD can be precisely controlled by the application of a positive voltage pulse (to write) or a negative voltage pulse (to erase), respectively. One million writing-erasing cycles for the OBD have been tested in ambient conditions without significant device degradation. These discoveries pave the way for newer applications, such as low-cost, large-area, flexible, high-density, electrically addressable data storage devices.