A low onset voltage WORM type polymer memory based on functional PES

A high‐performance polymer polyethersulfone (CN‐Azo‐PES), with a flexible ethoxyl linkage between the azobenzene chromophore side chain and the PES backbone, has been designed and successfully synthesized for an application in a WORM type memory device as an active polymer layer. CN‐Azo‐PES has excellent thermal properties with T g of 151°C and the degradation temperature higher than 373°C, which can contribute to a better performance of the device. The device based on CN‐Azo‐PES exhibits a write‐once read‐many (WORM) type memory performance with an onset voltage as low as −1.0 V and an ON/OFF current ratio higher than 10 2 at a reading voltage of 0.4 V. Moreover, the data can be maintained for longer than 4 × 10 5 s once written and can be read for more than 400 cycles under a reading voltage of 0.4 V. Thus CN‐Azo‐PES can serve as an energy saving memory material in the data storage field of next generation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42644.