In Situ Electrical Properties’ Investigation and Nanofabrication of Ag/Sb2Te3 Assembled Multilayers’ Film

Abstract

AbstractNanopatterned fabrication and electrical properties of Ag/Sb2Te3 layer‐by‐layer assembled films are systematically investigated by a conductive atomic force microscope. Multilayers’ film composed by alternating Ag and Sb2Te3 with respective thicknesses of 5 and 10 nm shows a bipolar resistive switching behavior contributed by the silver conductive filaments. Designed cross‐plane nanofilament arrays with reconfigurable patterns are fabricated, which show a potential application in memristor and nanofabrication. Multilayers with the same thickness of Ag but increased thickness of Sb2Te3 (up to 20 nm) present a Fowler–Nordheim tunneling‐dominated current and show in‐plane snowflake silver dendrite on the surface. Further studies on the silver dendrite may bring potential applications in extensive fields such as multifunctional data storage and neuromorphic. By controlling the type (Sb2Te3, Bi2Te3, etc.) and thickness of solid electrolyte materials, electronic devices with specific functions and applications can be designed.