Resistive switching behaviour of amorphous silicon carbide thin films fabricated by a single composite magnetron sputter deposition method

Abstract

Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) films of thickness 50–300 nm are deposited by a single composite target magnetron sputtering process. Metal–SiC–metal structures are fabricated to demonstrate resistive switching. The top metal electrode is Cu, Pt or Ag and the bottom electrode is fixed as Au. Reversible resistive switching from high to low resistance states is observed for SiC films at voltages between 1 and 5 V. The interface between metal electrode and a-SiC films plays a significant role in achieving optimal switching performance. Resistance OFF/ON ratios of $$10^{8}$$ , retention times $${>}10^{4}$$ s and endurance of 50 cycles are achieved in the best devices. Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are employed to understand the mechanism of device operation. Raman spectroscopy indicates the formation of nanocrystalline graphite in these devices after a few cycles of operation.