Ion implantation synthesis and conduction of tantalum oxide resistive memory layers

Abstract

In this paper, the ion implantation synthesis of tantalum oxide resistive memory material is introduced, the salient switching properties are described, and the results from an analysis of the off- and on-state conduction are presented. The tantalum oxide layers were synthesized by oxygen ion implanting (5 × 1016/cm2 O+ ions at 30 keV) tantalum metal. From composition-depth profiling, the oxygen implant profile is estimated to peak at ∼20 at. %. The properties of memory devices fabricated from the implantation-synthesized oxide were investigated through endurance testing. A stable 2× memory window was obtained for >103 switching cycles with low SET and RESET voltages 2 V, Frenkel-Poole emission current was identified; thus, trap states that may be induced by the implantation process impact high voltage conduction in this memory state.