Understanding Ion Locking in Doubly Polymerized Ionic Liquids: Toward A New Platform for Transient Information Storage
Abstract
Controlling who can access information stored on an electronic device and when is critical for maintaining information security. For field deployable devices, especially those that may be left behind, building intrinsic “expiration dates” and erasure mechanisms into the materials in which sensitive information is stored adds an extra layer of security to software based solutions. In this work, we will pursue fundamental advances toward a new class of devices that can store information with an intrinsic expiration date using materials called polymerized ionic liquids. These materials, which are essentially salts that are liquid at room temperature, contain a large number of positively and negatively charged chemical units. Under an applied voltage, these positively and negatively charged units migrate to locations that reflect the sign and magnitude of the applied voltage. By then using a chemical polymerization process to “lock” all of the charged units in place, we can store information about what voltage was applied to the material and can read it back out at a later date. In our work, we aim to understand how the chemical composition and structure of these polymerized ionic liquids determines the timescales and mechanisms of ion motion in these materials, which will in turn determine the lifetimes over which they can be used to store information. This work will allow us to determine the design rules necessary for achieving efficient information storage in these materials and pave the way for their use in practical device applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 14, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95501910196
Entities
People
- Jennifer E Laaser
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Pittsburgh