Role of tantalum nitride as active top electrode in electroforming-free bipolar resistive switching behavior of cerium oxide-based memory cells

Abstract Electroforming-free cerium oxide-based bipolar resistive switching memory devices have been deposited using radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. These devices demonstrate two types of forming-free cells: some in the low-resistance state and the others in high-resistance state. The transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses illustrate the formation of tantalum oxynitride layer between tantalum nitride (TaN) and cerium oxide (CeOx), which looks to be responsible for the two types of cells as well as their memory performance. Ohmic and Poole–Frenkel conduction mechanisms are found to be responsible for charge transport in the low- and high-resistance states. The current–voltage characteristics and temperature dependence of resistance suggest that resistive switching mechanism in our TaN/CeOx/Pt devices may be explained by the model of connection and disconnection of filamentary paths made of oxygen vacancies. The reliability characteristics of TaN/CeOx/Pt devices indicate better endurance and stable retention performance at relatively lower programming voltages and larger memory window (OFF/ON resistance ratio ~ 103) at room temperature and at 100 °C.

[1]  Minghua Tang,et al.  Coexistence of the bipolar and unipolar resistive switching behaviors in vanadium doped ZnO films , 2014 .

[2]  T. Pan,et al.  Switching Behavior in Rare-Earth Films Fabricated in Full Room Temperature , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[3]  T. Pan,et al.  Unipolar resistive switching behavior in Dy2O3 films for nonvolatile memory applications , 2012 .

[4]  T. Tseng,et al.  Resistive switching characteristics of Pt/CeOx/TiN memory device , 2014 .

[5]  Weidong Yu,et al.  Forming-free colossal resistive switching effect in rare-earth-oxide Gd2O3 films for memristor applications , 2009 .

[6]  Heng-Yuan Lee,et al.  An Ultrathin Forming-Free $\hbox{HfO}_{x}$ Resistance Memory With Excellent Electrical Performance , 2010, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[7]  Dai-Ying Lee,et al.  Forming-free resistive switching behaviors in Cr-embedded Ga2O3 thin film memories , 2011 .

[8]  S. O. Park,et al.  Electrical observations of filamentary conductions for the resistive memory switching in NiO films , 2006 .

[9]  Peng Zhou,et al.  Role of TaON interface for CuxO resistive switching memory based on a combined model , 2009 .

[10]  A. Aziz,et al.  Room-temperature fabricated, fully transparent resistive memory based on ITO/CeO2/ITO structure for RRAM applications , 2015 .

[11]  Qi Liu,et al.  On the resistive switching mechanisms of Cu/ZrO2:Cu/Pt , 2008 .

[12]  K. Yong,et al.  Coexistence of unipolar and bipolar resistive switching characteristics in ZnO thin films , 2010 .

[13]  W. Jang,et al.  A study on low-power, nanosecond operation and multilevel bipolar resistance switching in Ti/ZrO2/Pt nonvolatile memory with 1T1R architecture , 2012 .

[14]  Chun-Chieh Lin,et al.  Effect of non-lattice oxygen on ZrO2-based resistive switching memory , 2012, Nanoscale Research Letters.

[15]  C. Jung,et al.  The evolution of conducting filaments in forming-free resistive switching Pt/TaOx/Pt structures , 2013 .

[16]  R. Waser,et al.  Nanoionics-based resistive switching memories. , 2007, Nature materials.

[17]  J. Zhai,et al.  Study of the bipolar resistive‐switching behaviors in Pt/GdOx/TaNx structure for RRAM application , 2014 .

[18]  Xianhua Wei,et al.  Abnormal coexistence of unipolar, bipolar, and threshold resistive switching in an Al/NiO/ITO structure , 2014, Nanoscale Research Letters.

[19]  T. Pan,et al.  Structural properties and electroforming-free resistive switching characteristics of GdOx, TbOx, and HoOx memory devices , 2013 .

[20]  Lucian Pintilie,et al.  Ferroelectric polarization-leakage current relation in high quality epitaxial Pb ( Zr , Ti ) O 3 films , 2007 .

[21]  Electrode dependent interfacial layer variation in metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor , 2014 .

[22]  Sean Li,et al.  Oxygen level: the dominant of resistive switching characteristics in cerium oxide thin films , 2012 .

[23]  Jinchai Li,et al.  The InN epitaxy via controlling In bilayer , 2014, Nanoscale Research Letters.

[24]  Y. Liu,et al.  Highly uniform resistive switching characteristics of TiN/ZrO2/Pt memory devices , 2009 .

[25]  R. Murakami,et al.  Organization of cubic CeO2 nanoparticles on the edges of self assembled tapered ZnO nanorods via a template free one-pot synthesis: significant cathodoluminescence and field emission properties , 2012 .

[26]  T. Tseng,et al.  Forming-free bipolar resistive switching in nonstoichiometric ceria films , 2014, Nanoscale Research Letters.

[27]  Yidong Xia,et al.  Unipolar resistive switching behaviors in amorphous lutetium oxide films , 2010 .

[28]  F. Zeng,et al.  Fully room-temperature-fabricated nonvolatile resistive memory for ultrafast and high-density memory application. , 2009, Nano letters.

[29]  Y. Y. Lin,et al.  Current Status and Future Challenges of Resistive Switching Memories , 2011 .

[30]  Qi Liu,et al.  Improvement of Resistive Switching Properties in $ \hbox{ZrO}_{2}$-Based ReRAM With Implanted Ti Ions , 2009, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[31]  S. Rhee,et al.  Effect of electrode material on the resistance switching of Cu2O film , 2007 .

[32]  N. Xu,et al.  Bipolar switching behavior in TiN/ZnO/Pt resistive nonvolatile memory with fast switching and long retention , 2008 .

[33]  Forming‐free SiN‐based resistive switching memory prepared by RF sputtering , 2013 .

[34]  Ram S. Katiyar,et al.  Forming free resistive switching in graphene oxide thin film for thermally stable nonvolatile memory applications , 2013 .

[35]  Takumi Mikawa,et al.  Electroforming and resistance-switching mechanism in a magnetite thin film , 2007 .

[36]  Shi-Yao Zhu,et al.  Improved interfacial and electrical properties of GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with HfTiON as gate dielectric and TaON as passivation interlayer , 2013 .