Electroforming-Free Bipolar Resistive Switching Memory Based on Magnesium Fluoride.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Electronics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Resistive switching random access memory (RRAM) offers high density and low power consumption.
• Traditional RRAM fabrication often requires a high-voltage electroforming step.
• Developing electroforming-free RRAM is crucial for simplified manufacturing and wider application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate electroforming-free resistive switching characteristics of magnesium fluoride (MgF_x) based RRAM devices.
• To elucidate the resistive switching mechanism in Ti/MgF_x/Pt structures.
• To assess the performance metrics including on/off ratio and data retention.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Ti/MgF_x/Pt devices without an electroforming step.
• Electrical characterization including SET/RESET switching measurements.
• Analysis of the resistive switching mechanism using conduction models like space charge limited conduction (SCLC).

Main Results:

• The fabricated RRAM devices exhibited electroforming-free bipolar SET/RESET operations.
• An on/off ratio exceeding 10² and data retention greater than 10⁴ seconds were achieved.
• The switching mechanism was identified as a combination of trap-controlled SCLC and interface filamentary switching.

Conclusions:

• Electroforming-free RRAM devices based on MgF_x are feasible and demonstrate promising performance.
• The presence of fluoride vacancies and O-H group defects significantly influences the switching behavior.
• These findings pave the way for simplified fabrication of advanced RRAM technologies.