Journal Article

Metal oxide memories based on thermochemical and valence change mechanisms

Inoue, Isao H., Hwang, Cheol Seong, Yang, J. Joshua, Mikolajick, Thomas

2012

Overview

This article reviews recent progress in understanding the resistive switching (RS) behavior and improvements in device performance of RS metal oxide (MO) thin-film systems and devices. The diverse RS MO materials are classified according to their switching mechanisms and characteristics. For each category, some representative materials are selected, and their characteristics are discussed. In addition, other factors such as the device structure, which also plays a crucial role in determining the device properties, are discussed as well. When applied in a real circuit (e.g., in a crossbar structure), there are device features/characteristics that need to be considered, including the bias polarity for switching, the current-voltage relationship, reliability, and scaling issues. Since nonvolatile RS in many MO materials is primarily associated with localized conduction channels, understanding the nature and the dynamic change of the current path structure is crucial and therefore is reviewed at length here. Guidelines for the choice of materials and access devices and their fabrication methods will also be provided. Finally, this review concludes with the outlook and challenges of MO-based resistance change devices for semiconductor memories.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press,Springer International Publishing,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: applications / Applied and Technical Physics / Asymmetry / Characterization and Evaluation of Materials / Classification / devices / Electric fields / Energy Materials / Materials Engineering / Materials Science / Memory devices / Metal oxides / Nanotechnology / Phase transitions / Random access memory / Resistive switching phenomena in thin films: Materials / Resistive switching phenomena in thin films: Materials, devices, and applications / Switching / Symmetry / Transistors