ZnO/FLC nanocomposites with low driving voltage and non-volatile memory for information storage applications

Nanocomposites comprises of nano sized zinc oxide (ZnO, size ~10 nm) particles and ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) material have been prepared and studied. The concentration of the dopant (ZnO nanoparticles) in FLC matrix varied from 0.0 to 1 wt%. Distinct nanocomposites have been used to fabricate memory device and studied through dielectric spectroscopy, optical microscopy and electro-optical methods to explore electro-optic and memory parameters. Experimental results reveal that doping of ZnO nanoparticles in FLC leads to long lasting memory and low deriving voltage in nanocomposites. The achieved prolonged memory effect in nanocomposites may attribute to the charge transfer at the interfaces. Another reason, application of applied field may lead to ion trapping effect at ZnO surface which in turn minimize the depolarized field and enhance the memory effect in nanocomposites.