Understanding the transition between memory and threshold switching due to the compliance current

Abstract

The switching-type transition induced by external parameters, e.g., the thermal conductance and the temperature, has been intensively investigated by using the thermal random circuit breaker (RCB) network model. Recently, some researchers argued that the thermal RCB network model was not able to predict the switching-type transition induced by a new parameter, i.e., the compliance current. However, we demonstrate that the compliance current-induced transition can be explained by using the thermal RCB network model. This work clearly demonstrates that the basic mechanism of unipolar resistance switching is closely related to the formation and the rupture of conducting filaments due to the bias voltage and thermal effects.