Transient Multi-Mode Silk Memory Devices

We report a programmable vanishing multi-mode memory device consisting of a silk-based resistive switching memory (operating electronically) integrated with a silk-based diffractive optical element (operating optically). The resistive switching memory (ReRAM) using silk protein as the switching layer stores electronic messages and a diffractive optical element (DOE) made of the micropatterned silk film stores the optical information. Benefiting from the superior flexibility, strength and tunable degradability of silk, this soft but robust multi-mode memory device is able to precisely degrade according to the preset sequence and time. The controllable disappearance of the silk-based functional microstructures leads to the transformation of the encoded information to another, thereby expanding its applications in multi-mode information encryption and anti-reverse engineering.