Resistive switching characteristics of a compact ZnO nanorod array grown directly on an Al-doped ZnO substrate

Abstract

ZnO’s resistive switching properties have drawn much attention because ZnO has a simple chemical composition and is easy to manipulate. The propulsion mechanism for resistive switching in ZnO is based on a conducting filament that consists of oxygen vacancies. In the case of film structure, the random formation of the conducting filaments occasionally leads to unstable switching characteristics. Limiting the direction in which the conducting filaments are formed is one way to solve this problem. In this study, we demonstrate reliable resistive switching behavior in a device with an Au/compact ZnO nanorod array/Al-doped ZnO structure with stable resistive switching over 105 cycles and a long retention time of 104 s by confining conducting filaments along the boundaries between ZnO nanorods. The restrictive formation of conducting filaments along the boundaries between ZnO nanorods is observed directly using conductive atomic force microscopy.