Study of resistive properties and neural response of ZrO2/TiO2 heterojunction nanowire array (NWA) RRAM

Abstract

Nowadays, the researcher has an eye on enhancing the performance of resistive random-access memory (RRAM) and exploring new demands and applications, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence and neural computing. It is crucially important for accurately replicating the observed plasticity within synapses to achieve superior RRAM performance in low-dimensional nanomaterials. In this work, we focus on addressing certainly unsatisfactory electrical properties of RRAM based on titanium oxide nanowire array (TiO2 NWA), for example, short retention time (∼103 s). Theoretically and experimentally, a novel and solution-based RRAM structure, namely ZrO2/TiO2(NWA), has been conducted. With the help of the ZrO2 insertion layer, the RRAM device shows impressive resistive switching characteristics, including 200 current–voltage(I-V) sweeps without degradation, increased cycling endurance (>105 cycles), and a long retention time (∼9 × 104 s). These findings hold significant implications for digital computing systems. Moreover, the successful implementation of the proposed device enables the emulation of fundamental synaptic biological features such as non-linear transmission properties, learning experiences behavior, short-term potentiation (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP). This research provides evidence of the immense potential of the Ag/ZrO2/TiO2(NWA)/FTO RRAM device in bipolar non-volatile memory (NVM) and biomimetic neuromorphic systems.