Nonvolatile and reconfigurable two-terminal electro-optic duplex memristor based on III-nitride semiconductors

With the fast development of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IOT), etc, there is an urgent need for the technology that can efficiently recognize, store and process a staggering amount of information. The AlScN material has unique advantages including immense remnant polarization, superior temperature stability and good lattice-match to other III-nitrides, making it easy to integrate with the existing advanced III-nitrides material and device technologies. However, due to the large band-gap, strong coercive field, and low photo-generated carrier generation and separation efficiency, it is difficult for AlScN itself to accumulate enough photo-generated carriers at the surface/interface to induce polarization inversion, limiting its application in in-memory sensing and computing. In this work, an electro-optic duplex memristor on a GaN/AlScN hetero-structure based Schottky diode has been realized. This two-terminal memristor shows good electrical and opto-electrical nonvolatility and reconfigurability. For both electrical and opto-electrical modes, the current on/off ratio can reach the magnitude of 10⁴, and the resistance states can be effectively reset, written and long-termly stored. Based on this device, the "IMP" truth table and the logic "False" can be successfully reproduced, indicating the huge potential of the device in the field of in-memory sensing and computing.