TY - JOUR
T1 - Investigation of the Switching Mechanism in TiO2-Based RRAM
T2 - A Two-Dimensional EDX Approach
AU - Carta, Daniela
AU - Salaoru, Iulia
AU - Khiat, Ali
AU - Regoutz, Anna
AU - Mitterbauer, Christoph
AU - Harrison, Nicholas M.
AU - Prodromakis, Themistoklis
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank Dr. C. Mc Gilvery, Department of Materials, Electron Microscopy and Characterization Centre, Imperial College, London, U.K. for her assistance during HRTEM measurement. We finally wish to acknowledge the financial support of CHIST-ERA ERA-Net and EPSRC EP/J00801X/1, EP/K017829/1.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2016/8/3
Y1 - 2016/8/3
N2 - The next generation of nonvolatile memory storage may well be based on resistive switching in metal oxides. TiO2 as transition metal oxide has been widely used as active layer for the fabrication of a variety of multistate memory nanostructure devices. However, progress in their technological development has been inhibited by the lack of a thorough understanding of the underlying switching mechanisms. Here, we employed high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) combined with two-dimensional energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (2D EDX) to provide a novel, nanoscale view of the mechanisms involved. Our results suggest that the switching mechanism involves redistribution of both Ti and O ions within the active layer combined with an overall loss of oxygen that effectively render conductive filaments. Our study shows evidence of titanium movement in a 10 nm TiO2 thin-film through direct EDX mapping that provides a viable starting point for the improvement of the robustness and lifetime of TiO2-based resistive random access memory (RRAM).
AB - The next generation of nonvolatile memory storage may well be based on resistive switching in metal oxides. TiO2 as transition metal oxide has been widely used as active layer for the fabrication of a variety of multistate memory nanostructure devices. However, progress in their technological development has been inhibited by the lack of a thorough understanding of the underlying switching mechanisms. Here, we employed high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) combined with two-dimensional energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (2D EDX) to provide a novel, nanoscale view of the mechanisms involved. Our results suggest that the switching mechanism involves redistribution of both Ti and O ions within the active layer combined with an overall loss of oxygen that effectively render conductive filaments. Our study shows evidence of titanium movement in a 10 nm TiO2 thin-film through direct EDX mapping that provides a viable starting point for the improvement of the robustness and lifetime of TiO2-based resistive random access memory (RRAM).
KW - energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
KW - memristors
KW - resistive memory
KW - resistive switching
KW - thin films
KW - titanium dioxide
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84982698652&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsami.6b04919
DO - 10.1021/acsami.6b04919
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84982698652
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 8
SP - 19605
EP - 19611
JO - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
IS - 30
ER -