Localized Heating and Switching in MoTe₂-Based Resistive Memory Devices.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanoscience
• Solid-State Electronics

Background:

• Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer unique properties for advanced electronic devices.
• Resistive memory devices are crucial for next-generation data storage.
• The switching mechanisms in 2D material-based memory are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the bipolar switching mechanism in molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2)-based resistive memory devices.
• To understand the role of localized heating and conductive plug formation.
• To correlate experimental thermal measurements with electro-thermal simulations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) to map surface temperature during device operation.
• Performed electro-thermal simulations to model heat distribution and plug characteristics.
• Employed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to visualize the conductive plugs at the atomic level.

Main Results:

• Identified localized heating at conductive plugs formed during bipolar switching in MoTe2 devices.
• Determined plug diameters ranging from 250 to 350 nm through SThM and simulations.
• Observed that conductive plugs result from thermally-activated atomic migration between electrodes.

Conclusions:

• Provided the first thermal and localized insights into the switching mechanism of 2D material-based resistive memory.
• Demonstrated that atomic migration, a thermally-activated process, forms conductive plugs.
• Highlighted SThM as a valuable technique for analyzing both traditional and emerging memory devices.