Microstructure related quantum conductance in Mn-doped ZnO resistive switching memory

Abstract

Resistive random access memory is one of the most promising non-volatile alternatives to current technologies, such as Flash, due to its simple sandwiched structure, low power consumption, high speed and good endurance1,2. In many cases, the mechanism of resistive switching is believed to be the formation and partial dissolution of nanoscale conductive filaments (CFs) during the set and reset process in insulating matrixes under an applied electric field. Owing to the formation of one-dimension channel in nanometer-sized CFs3, it is natural to expect the quantum size effects in such device. Actually, the quantum conductance (QC) phenomena have been reported in SiO 2 4, WO 3−X 5 and HfO 2 6 resistive switching devices recently. This QC behavior is not only helpful for understanding the physical mechanism of resistive switching, but also has the potential applications to realize multilevel memories. Here, we report conductance quantization in Ti/Mn:ZnO/Pt device. We suggest the high crystallinity and fine microstructures in the Mn:ZnO film plays an important role for the QC behavior.