Programmable Organic-Free Negative Differential Resistance Memristor Based on Plasmonic Tunnel Junction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Negative differential resistance (NDR) is crucial for advanced electronic devices.
• Existing NDR mechanisms often face limitations in tunability and robustness.
• Plasmonic effects in nanomaterials offer novel pathways for electronic phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a novel NDR phenomenon in planar plasmonic tunnel junctions.
• To elucidate the underlying mechanisms involving plasmon-assisted tunneling and electronic caching.
• To demonstrate the potential application of this phenomenon in memristors.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a tunnel junction using shell-insulated Au@SiO2 nanoparticle nanomembranes.
• Utilizing SiO2 shells as tunable tunneling barriers and Au cores for plasmonic effects and electronic caching.
• Investigating NDR characteristics by varying SiO2 shell thickness and Au core size.
• Exploring light-induced modulation of NDR via plasmonic effects.

Main Results:

• Observation of a novel NDR phenomenon attributed to plasmon-assisted long-range electron tunneling (P-tunneling) and electronic caching.
• Demonstration of programmable control over NDR peak voltage and current by tuning nanoparticle parameters.
• Evidence of light-induced regulation of NDR behavior through P-tunneling.
• Successful exploitation of the NDR phenomenon for robust memristor applications.

Conclusions:

• The study presents a new mechanism for generating NDR effects.
• The developed plasmonic tunnel junction offers tunable electronic properties.
• This work paves the way for developing robust, new-concept nanoelectronic devices, including memristors.