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Role of an Interfacial Layer in Ta 2 O 5 ‐Based Resistive Switching Devices for Improved Endurance and Reliable Multibit Operation
Author(s) -
Lee Dong Kyu,
Kim Gun Hwan,
Sohn Hyunchul,
Yang Min Kyu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201900646
Subject(s) - electrode , materials science , layer (electronics) , tin , resistor , optoelectronics , resistive touchscreen , resistive random access memory , oxygen , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , voltage , chemistry , metallurgy , engineering , organic chemistry
A comparative study of two electrode materials is conducted to demonstrate the effect of the electrode material on the resistive switching (RS) behavior of Ta 2 O 5 ‐based devices. Compared with a Pt top electrode (TE), application of a TiN TE shows an improved endurance of up to 10 9 cycles and a highly reliable 4 bit (16 states) operation. Various structural analyses reveal that this distinctive RS performance originates from an oxygen‐deficient layer (TaO x ) between the Ta 2 O 5 and TiN TEs. This interfacial layer improves the endurance of the device by acting as an oxygen reservoir that prevents the severe consumption of oxygen during repetitive RS and makes the device compatible with electrical pulse–based operations for stable multibit operation by acting as an appropriate load resistor. The results herein suggest that the optimized interfacial layer is essential for the development of high‐performance RS devices for future nonvolatile memory applications.