Low-voltage electro-optical memory device based on NiO nanorods dispersed in a ferroelectric liquid crystal

We present a low voltage driven electro-optical memory device fabricated by dispersing nano-sized nickel oxide (nNiO) composed of short length nanorods into a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) host material. The nNiO/FLC composite showed a tremendous decrease in saturation voltage compared to the pristine FLC material along with non-volatile memory behavior which is confirmed through dielectric spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy and electro-optical response methods. This drop off in saturation voltage is due to the fast alignment of dipolar nNiO and mesogens in the nNiO/FLC composite along the direction of the applied electric field and reduced screening effect. The non-volatile memory behavior of the composite is attributed to the reduction in the depolarization field by adsorption of impurity ions onto the surface of nNiO, which is verified through dielectric spectroscopy and electrical conductivity measurements. These studies pave the way for fabricating non-volatile, low power electro-optical memory devices for advanced information storage applications.