Reversible nanometer-scale data storage on a self-assembled, organic, crystalline thin film

An organic donor-acceptor molecule CDHAB was designed and synthesized for scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) based data storage on a self-assembled, organic, and crystalline thin film. A reversible nanometer-scale data storage was obtained on this thin film by applying pulsed voltages between STM and Highly Organic Crystalline Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) substrate. It was assumed that the cooperative interaction effects of hydrogen bonding, and Vander Walls Forces led to the orderly arrangement of CDHAB molecules on the HOPG substrate. The local electrical properties of CDHAB thin films were characterized by examining the current-voltage (I/V) characteristics using STM. The results show that the tunneling current remains low in the CDHAB film and shows a low impendence during the same voltage conditions. The formation of recording dots is due to a local change of the film's electrical properties and reversible inter molecular charge transfer induced by electric fields.