Dependence of the Metal Electrode and Improved Pulse Switching Speed of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 as a Resistance Change Memory Device

Abstract

For the device application of resistive change memory, device performance as well as uniformity and understanding of the mechanism is necessary. The resistance change due to filament formation is undesirable, as it is hard to apply for practical application. In order to have a nonlocalized, uniformly distributed, nonfilamentary-type resistance change memory device, a switching mechanism based on oxide formation and deformation is beneficial. This phenomenon largely depends on the metal electrode on top of the memory oxides. In this study both the device performance, such as pulse switching speed, and the switching mechanism were understood with different metal electrode–oxide combinations. The switching speed is determined by the slowest process step, which in this case is the dissolving of oxide during the set process. A set pulse width of and reset pulse width of were shown. Pulse switching speed was also confirmed by monitoring the delay time, comparing the output signal pulse with the input signal. The devices showed good uniformity and data retention over . Overall the combination of with a carefully designed metal electrode stack has great potential for future nonvolatile memory device applications.