Silicon-friendly resistive switching memory with tin

May 14, 2018

In a study published in Nanoscale, researchers show that the variability seen in devices that operate by filament formation and dissolution is linked to differences in device starting local microstructure.

Schematic of crossbar array design used in this study overlaid with a model of the molecular structure showing Sn (gold sphere) diffusing through the insulating HfO2 layer (blue and white matrix). Each are essential components in forming the filament across the metal-insulator-metal stack in this resistive switching architecture.

Scientific Achievement

A silicon CMOS-compatible resistive switching memory applicable to 3D crossbar architectures was created.

Significance and Impact

By developing criteria to select electrode metals for cationic filamentary resistive memory devices and demonstrating stable memory device performance under high thermal stress, the potential this structure holds for high density memory cells was confirmed.

Research Details

Device characterization included time evolution study of filament formation, revealing microstructural effects on device performance.
This work used fabrication, materials characterization, and computational resources at the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) including clean room facilities and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR01540F

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Work was performed in part at the Center for Nanoscale Materials.

About Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials
The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the DOE Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE’s Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. For more information about the DOE NSRCs, please visit https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities/User-Facilities-at-a-Glance.

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