Abstract
ZnO nanowires (NWs) were grown on Si(100) substrates at 975 °C by a vapor-liquid-solid method with ~2 nm and ~4 nm gold thin films as catalysts, followed by an argon plasma treatment for the as-grown ZnO NWs. A single ZnO NW–based memory cell with a Ti/ZnO/Ti structure was then fabricated to investigate the effects of plasma treatment on the resistive switching. The plasma treatment improves the homogeneity and reproducibility of the resistive switching of the ZnO NWs, and it also reduces the switching (set and reset) voltages with less fluctuations, which would be associated with the increased density of oxygen vacancies to facilitate the resistive switching as well as to average out the stochastic movement of individual oxygen vacancies. Additionally, a single ZnO NW–based memory cell with self-rectification could also be obtained, if the inhomogeneous plasma treatment is applied to the two Ti/ZnO contacts. The plasma-induced oxygen vacancy disabling the rectification capability at one of the Ti/ZnO contacts is believed to be responsible for the self-rectification in the memory cell.
Highlights
Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is capable of reversible switching between high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) under suitable electrical stress, which has been confirmed to be closely associated with defects in the memory [1,2,3]
We hereby evaluate the effects of plasma treatment on the switching properties of the zinc oxide (ZnO) NW–based memory according to the homogeneity and reproducibility of the switching parameters, the data retention and the embedded self-rectification capability
Storage properties of a RRAM are criterions to estimate the effectiveness of plasma treatment
Summary
Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is capable of reversible switching between high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) under suitable electrical stress, which has been confirmed to be closely associated with defects in the memory [1,2,3]. In order to further improve storage performance such as the retention, stability and homogeneity of switching properties, several schemes have been attempted to control defects in the storage medium and on the interface [13,14,15,16,17,18,19]. Plasma treatment is a widely accepted technique for surface modification due to its physical effects as well as chemical ones on the treated materials. It exhibits low cost, high efficiency, high control accuracy and good. The effects of plasma treatment on the switching properties of RRAMs are scarcely investigated [6,20].
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