Inkjet printed IGZO memristors with volatile and non-volatile switching

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electronics

Background:

• Solution-based memristors offer scalable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly electronic components.
• Indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) is a promising oxide semiconductor for resistive switching applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize inkjet-printed silver/IGZO/indium tin oxide (Ag/IGZO/ITO) memristors.
• To investigate the influence of IGZO thickness on device performance.
• To explore the potential of these memristors in temporal signal processing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Ag/IGZO/ITO memristors using inkjet printing.
• Electrical characterization of resistive switching properties, including SET/RESET voltages, retention, and memory window.
• Analysis of volatile and non-volatile switching behaviors.
• Testing of volatile characteristics with 4-bit pulse sequences.

Main Results:

• The fabricated memristors exhibited both non-volatile and volatile resistive switching at low operating voltages.
• Non-volatile switching showed a SET/RESET voltage below 2V/-5V, retention up to 10^5 s, and a memory window of 100.
• Volatile switching demonstrated a low threshold voltage (< -0.65V) and a characteristic time of 0.75 ± 0.12 ms, which varied with pulse number.
• The devices showed potential for temporal signal processing applications.

Conclusions:

• Inkjet-printed Ag/IGZO/ITO memristors are viable for electronic memory applications.
• Device performance, including memory window and switching voltage, is tunable via IGZO thickness.
• The observed volatile switching characteristics open possibilities for neuromorphic computing and temporal signal processing.