Abstract
Further performance improvement is necessary for resistive random access memory (RRAM) to realize its commercialization. In this work, a novel pulse operation method is proposed to improve the performance of RRAM based on Ti/HfO2/Pt structure. In the DC voltage sweep of the RRAM device, the SET transition is abrupt under positive bias. If current sweep with positive bias is utilized in SET process, the SET switching will become gradual, so SET is current controlled. In the negative voltage sweep for RESET process, the change of current with applied voltage is gradual, so RESET is voltage controlled. Current sweep SET and voltage sweep RESET shows better controllability on the parameter variation. Considering the SET/RESET characteristics in DC sweep, in the corresponding pulse operation, the width and height of the pulse series can be adjusted to control the SET and RESET process, respectively. Our new method is different from the traditional pulse operation in which both the width and height of program/erase pulse are simply kept constant which would lead to unnecessary damage to the device. In our new method, in each program or erase operation, a series of pulses with the width/height gradually increased are made use of to fully finish the SET/RESET switching but no excessive stress is generated at the same time, so width/height-controlled accurate SET/RESET can be achieved. Through the operation, the uniformity and endurance of the RRAM device has been significantly improved.
Highlights
Thanks to the increasing demand from portable electronic products like smartphones, cameras, and laptops, the demand for solid-state memories has been increasing rapidly in recent years
A highquality 8-nm-thickness HfO2 resistive switching layer was grown by atom layer deposition (ALD) technology, which has the advantage of well controlling on the deposition parameters and excellent deposition uniformity
The device works in bipolar switching mode, i.e. SET occurs in positive polarity while RESET is in negative bias
Summary
Thanks to the increasing demand from portable electronic products like smartphones, cameras, and laptops, the demand for solid-state memories has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Innovations in cell structure and device materials may help extend flash memory for another couple of technology nodes, alternative candidates must be explored for future nonvolatile memory (NVM) applications. Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is the most promising one for future high-density NVM application, Wang et al Nanoscale Research Letters (2015) 10:39 explore possible solutions through innovations in test and operation methods. In the DC positive voltage sweep the SET transition is abrupt, but it becomes gradual under current sweep. SET and RESET are current and voltage controlled, respectively. Combining positive current sweep SET and corresponding negative voltage sweep RESET operation, stable and uniform distributions of on-state and off-state resistance can be obtained. Accurate SET/RESET controlled by pulse width/height can be achieved through our new method. As a result of the new method, the uniformity and endurance of the RRAM device has been significantly improved
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