Resistive Switches and Memories from Silicon Oxide
2010; American Chemical Society; Volume: 10; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1021/nl102255r
ISSN1530-6992
AutoresJun Yao, Zhengzong Sun, Lin Zhong, Douglas Natelson, James M. Tour,
Tópico(s)Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
ResumoBecause of its excellent dielectric properties, silicon oxide (SiOx) has long been used and considered as a passive, insulating component in the construction of electronic devices. In contrast, here we demonstrate resistive switches and memories that use SiOx as the sole active material and can be implemented in entirely metal-free embodiments. Through cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, we determine that the switching takes place through the voltage-driven formation and modification of silicon (Si) nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in the SiOx matrix, with SiOx itself also serving as the source of the formation of this Si pathway. The small sizes of the Si NCs (d ∼ 5 nm) suggest that scaling to ultrasmall domains could be feasible. Meanwhile, the switch also shows robust nonvolatile properties, high ON/OFF ratios (>105), fast switching (sub-100-ns), and good endurance (104 write-erase cycles). These properties in a SiOx-based material composition showcase its potentials in constructing memory or logic devices that are fully CMOS compatible.
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