Space Charge Limited Current Mechanism Research Articles

Ni3C nanosheets and PVA nanocomposite based memristor for low-cost and flexible non-volatile memory devices

Two-dimensional (2D) MXenes have gained extensive attention in the field of memristors due to their high ion mobility, chemical stability and tunable electrical and surface properties. Moreover, MXenes have tunable interlayer bonding which enables enhancement in memristor performance. In this work, we synthesize a novel nanocomposite of Ni3C nanosheets and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and fabricate a flexible memristor with Ag/Ni3C-PVA/ITO/PET configuration for non-volatile memory applications. Ni3C nanosheets were synthesized from Ni-MAX (Ni3AlC2) through a solvothermal etching and exfoliation process. The nanosheet like structure of Ni3C is confirmed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM). Characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) reveal the crystalline phases, surface functional groups and chemical bonds present in Ni3C nanosheets and Ni3C-PVA nanocomposite. The memristor was fabricated through a facile low cost solution processed based fabrication technique. The Ag/Ni3C-PVA/ITO/PET memristor exhibits bipolar non-volatile switching characteristics. The device with optimised mass ratio of 4:3 (Ni3C: PVA) shows a decent off/on ratio of 2.09 × 102, long retention time of 104 s, and an endurance of 102 DC cycles. The SET voltage of the as-fabricated device is 2.8 V and the RESET voltage is −5.33 V. The flexible memristor exhibits outstanding mechanical robustness over 500 bending cycles. The high charge carrier mobility of Ni3C results in lower switching voltage and the dielectric property of PVA improves data retention and off/on ratio of the memristor. The resistive switching behaviour is explained through conductive metallic bridge mechanism. The conduction mechanism follows Ohmic conduction in ON state and trap controlled space charge limited current (TCSCLC) mechanism in OFF state. The results demonstrate that the nanocomposite with its superior resistive switching effects is suitable for cost-effective, high-performance, flexible non-volatile memory devices.

Achieving white electroluminescence and low current consumption in devices based on graphene oxide and silicon

This work reports the emission of white electroluminescence (EL) in devices based on silicon. These devices are formed by a heterostructure of porous silicon (PSi), graphene oxide (GO), silicon-rich-oxide (SRO) thin films, and zinc oxide (ZnO) as a transparent conductor oxide (contact). The current consumption in these devices has been reduced by approximately three orders of magnitude compared to the current currents commonly reported for electroluminescent devices. The white EL emission is corroborated by the EL spectra, which are very broad (from 400 to 750 nm) and are attributed to the different nanostructured defects present in the materials that make up the heterostructures. The devices exhibited EL only in negative bias. According to our analysis of the I–V curves, the space-charge limited current conduction mechanism is the dominant carrier conduction mechanism in the region where the EL takes place. The electroluminescence exhibited by these devices starts at a current of 1.1 μA and is the entire area electroluminescent at approximately 3 μA reaches its maximum value at 9 μA. We demonstrated that producing LEDs on a Si substrate can result in significant energy savings.

Ferroelectric properties and current mechanisms of BaTiO3/Nb:SrTiO3 thin films

[Formula: see text] thin film oxides have been deposited on [Formula: see text] substrates using a pulsed laser deposition system. Different annealing methods were thereafter used to assess the ferroelectricity of the grown films. The residual polarization value, 2Pr, of 4.205 [Formula: see text]C/cm2 and saturated residual polarization value, 2Pmax, of 15.484 [Formula: see text]C/cm2 were obtained using in-situ annealing. After performing rapid thermal annealing (RTA) annealing, the residual polarization value rose to 4.676 [Formula: see text]C/cm2 and the saturated residual polarization value rose to 18.723 [Formula: see text]C/cm2. Furthermore, a comparison of results showed that the saturation test frequency of the in-situ annealing was 10 times higher than the saturation test frequency of the RTA. This could be explained by the fact that the secondary high-temperature annealing led to a decrease in the conductivity of the doped oxide and, thereby, a decrease in the effective electric field that was applied to both ends of the BTO ([Formula: see text]) film. Thus, a lower frequency was required to ensure a flip of all ferroelectric domains within the BTO film. By testing the fatigue frequency at 100 kHz, [Formula: see text] stable cycles in both annealing methods and the results confirmed the good stability of the device performance. A linear fit analysis of the [Formula: see text] – [Formula: see text] curves showed under in-situ annealing the presence of both a bulk-limited current mechanism that was dominated by the space charge limited current (SCLC) and Pool–Frenkel (PF) mechanisms, and an interface-limited current that was dominated by the Fowler–Nordheim (FN) mechanism in the structure. After RTA annealing, the conducting mechanism is ohmic contact at low electric field and the SCLC mechanism at high field strength. The results show that after RTA annealing, the quality and ferroelectric properties of the films are significantly improved compared to those under in-situ annealing. These results showed that the BTO/NSTO/STO ([Formula: see text]) structure had a standard test frequency as well as reliable stability. The BTO/NSTO/STO structure showed, therefore, promising applications in future nonvolatile information memory devices.

Role of Ti interfacial layer in the stability of TiO2 based transparent synaptic device

Interface engineering plays a pivotal role in manipulating the electrical transport and conduction mechanism of a synaptic device. In this work, the impact of Ti as an interfacial layer is systematically investigated by inserting ∼5 nm thin film at both interfaces of a functional layer (TiO2). Interestingly, it was observed that Ti layers significantly regulate the migration of oxygen ions/vacancies at the interfaces yielding an improved stability from 10 to 200 cycles, sustained over a longer period ∼8 × 103 s. Forming free and gradual transition in conductance on positive bias region under a controlled compliance current ∼0.3–17 mA demonstrates the multilevel switching highlighting the typical synaptic behavior of memristor. The ohmic conduction and space charge-limited current mechanism was found across the various resistive states signifies the trapping/de-trapping. Besides, other key parameters of synaptic device such as paired pulse facilitation, depression, and short-term memory together with the excellent transmittance in the visible spectral range makes our device adequate for innovative transparent neuromorphic applications.

Multi-level Storage Characteristics of MoSe2 Resistive Random Access Memory

Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) is a type of non-volatile memory (NVM) device that stores information by switching between high and low resistance values. It has attracted widespread attention due to its promising potential for miniaturization. In this study, molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) was successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method, and the RRAM was fabricated with MoSe2 as the resistance change layer. Furthermore, the MoSe2 samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results demonstrate that the prepared MoSe2 forms flower-like nanospheres assembled by nanosheets, with a particle size is about 200 nm. In addition, RRAM has a low operating voltage (< 1V), a high OFF/ON-state resistance ratio (> 102), a good endurance (103 cycles), and its resistance switching mechanism is dominated by the trap-controlled space charge limited current (SCLC) mechanism in the high resistance state (HRS) and by the ohmic mechanism in the low resistance state (LRS). Furthermore, multi-level storage is achieved by adjusting the compliance currents (Icc) and the stop voltage (Vstop).

SnO-SnO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; Nanocomposites Based pn Diode: &lt;i&gt;In Situ&lt;/i&gt; Synthesis, Characterization and Fabrication of Device for pn Diode Applicability

We report on an approach for the in-situ synthesis (chemical method based) of SnO-SnO2 nanocomposites followed by characterisation (including morphological, chemical, structural and optical) and investigation of the electrical properties of the nanocomposites with reference to the as-synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles. Compared to spherical SnO2 particles, the SnO phase is found existing in the form of sheet like morphology. It has been found that through controlling of the Sn:OH precursor ratio is effective for the achievement of SnO phase. Compared to the pristine SnO2 nanoparticles, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the nanocomposites show the p-n junction characteristics. The observation of rectification ratio 2.05 indicates the excellent rectifying property of the nanocomposites due to the presence of p-type SnO phase. Further, exploration of the I-V characteristics has revealed the dominance of space-charge limited current transport mechanism for the nanocomposites sample. The lattice defects are discovered to be the cause of the transport mechanism in the nanocomposites sample.

Electrical conduction behavior in ferroelectric polymer-based composites incorporating metal halide perovskite

Halide perovskites have established their intriguing performances in optoelectronics and been expanded to energy harvesting application when incorporated into polymers due to their polarization related properties. Yet, fundamental understanding of the electrical conduction behavior of such composites has seldomly been addressed. Herein, composite films employing CH3NH3PbBr3 (MAPB) nanoparticles and ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] have been investigated upon their conduction behaviors. Both electric field and temperature-dependent currents have been thoroughly analyzed based on hopping and space charge-limited current mechanisms in combination with trap energy and trap density calculation from thermal stimulated depolarization currents. The conduction mechanism of MAPB/P(VDF-TrFE) composite has been established within the frame of band diagram. Our studies, thus, are essential for developing high-performance optoelectronics and energy harvesters based on halide perovskites/polymer composites.

Solvothermal synthesis of TiO2 nanospheres for non-volatile memory and synaptic learning applications

In this study, we used the one-pot solvothermal method to synthesize the TiO2 nanospheres (NSs) and used them for non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing applications. Several analytical tools were used to understand the structural, optical, morphological, and compositional characteristics of synthesized TiO2 NSs. The tetragonal crystal structure of anatase TiO2 was formed, according to the Rietveld refined x-ray diffraction results. The NS morphology was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was probed to understand the elemental composition and electronic states of the TiO2 NSs. We specifically looked at the impact of reaction time on the structural, optical, morphological, compositional, and resistive switching (RS) properties of TiO2 NSs. The fabricated devices (Ag/TiO2 NSs/FTO) exhibit bipolar RS behavior. The optimized RS device shows good endurance (5000 cycles) and memory retention (5000 s) properties. Moreover, fabricated devices showed double-valued charge-flux characteristics, whereas charge transport was caused by the Ohmic and space charge-limited current mechanisms. Additionally, the optimized device can mimic various synaptic characteristics including potentiation-depression, excitatory post-synaptic current, and paired-pulse facilitation.

Enhanced memristor performance via coupling effect of oxygen vacancy and ferroelectric polarization

As a new type of nonvolatile memory, the resistive memristor has broad application prospects in information storage and neural computing based on its excellent resistive switching (RS) performance. At present, it is still a great challenge to improve both ferroelectric polarization and leakage current to achieve a high RS on/off ratio of ferroelectric memristors. Herein, epitaxial Pb(Zr0.40Ti0.60)O3 (PZT) thin films with low content Ca doping were deposited on the Nb:SrTiO3 substrate to prepare PCZT/NSTO heterostructures and their RS behaviors were studied. The research findings show that compared with pure PZT film, the ferroelectric polarization of 1-mol%-Ca-doped PZT film is slightly improved, while the leakage current is increased by three orders of magnitude. Therefore, the RS on/off ratio reaches 2.5 × 105, about three orders of magnitude higher than pure PZT films. The theoretical analysis reveals that the RS behavior of PCZT/NSTO heterostructures is controlled by the PCZT/NSTO interfacial barrier and the space charge-limited current mechanism. Our results demonstrate that the ferroelectricity and electricity of ferroelectric thin films can be improved simultaneously by doping low-content Ca ions to increase the RS performance, which provides a good reference for the development of high-performance ferroelectric memristor devices.

Structure and electrical conductivity of nanocomposite SiOxNy(Si) and SiAlzOxNy(Si) films

In this study, the peculiarities of the structure and electrical conductivity of nanocomposite SiOxNy(Si) and SiAlzOxNy(Si) films in the temperature range of 95 – 340 K are determined. The composite films were obtained by ion-plasma sputtering of Si and co-sputtering of Si and Al targets in oxygen and nitrogen containing atmosphere (Ar+O2 +N2) followed by high temperature annealing. During the annealing of the deposited Si rich oxynitride films, Si nanoinclusions were formed in an amorphous dielectric matrix due to phase separation. Al atoms are found to be in the bound state (no Al metal nanoparticles present). The films have low absorbance and considerable transparency in the ultraviolet – visible – near infrared spectral region. Reduction of some part of Si-O bonds by Al during annealing the Al-containing samples leads to the separation of higher Si concentration as compared to the Al-free samples. The electrical conductivity of the films at low electric fields is found to be by variable-range electron hopping through the traps near the Fermi level. The characteristics of the traps and transport process such as the density of electron traps near the Fermi level, the activation energy of hopping and the hopping length are determined. It is found that the electrical conductivity of the SiAlzOxNy(Si) films annealed in argon is higher as compared to the films annealed in nitrogen and the Al-free films due to higher concentration of electron traps. The region of the conductivity decrease with the increase of electric field is revealed on the current-voltage characteristics of both the SiAlzOxNy(Si) films annealed both in nitrogen and argon and the SiOxNy(Si) films annealed in nitrogen. This effect is explained based on the peculiarities of electric field polarization in the films. The important role is played by the interface traps at the Si nanoparticle / amorphous matrix interfaces that capture electrons. At high electric fields, the film conductivity corresponds to the space charge limited current mechanism with the exponential distribution of the traps in the energy gap.

Ion migration in GaSb/Mn multilayers for memories applications: Study of Mn diffusion into the GaSb layers

This work presents a study of bilayer and multilayer systems of GaSb/Mn, obtained via DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature for memories applications. These architectures were observed through HR-SEM, which determined that the GaSb and Mn layers had an average thickness of 186,01±5,582 nm and 10,71±0,323 nm, respectively. Through the deconvolution of AES spectra, it was possible to identify the chemical element concentration profiles for each system and propose a model of diffusion layers. The GaSb/Mn systems were analyzed in two cases; in the cases of Mn deposited on the surface of GaSb wafer and bilayer systems, the Mn diffusion process was studied by the conventional Fick’s second law, considering the Mn layer as a constant source, and the Mn diffusion coefficient values correspond to 1,6×10−15cm2/s and 5,8×10−15cm2/s, respectively. The superposition of Fick´s second law solutions in each section of the multilayer architecture was used to describe the experimental concentration profile. Through, the model proposed to calculate the different diffusion coefficients of Mn layers, the description of the diffusion process in the bilayer and multilayer systems and their correlation with synthesis parameters, such as deposition time, has been satisfactory. In the multilayer architecture case, the Mn diffusion coefficients have been reported, considering the Mn layer position, and their values corresponding are 1,105×10−14cm2/s and 6,5×10−15cm2/s for Mn inner and middle layer respectively. Finally, the resistive behavior of the multilayers was studied through I-V curves. It was possible to establish the bipolar resistive behavior of the multilayer and contribution to the formation of conductive filaments or the space charge limited current like conductive mechanism of the multilayer thin films.

Study of digital and analog resistive switching memories based on methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite by experiments and DFT calculations

In this study, a thin film of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) was employed as the switching layer in the metal/MAPbI3/FTO devices. Two metals, Ag and Cr, were used as active and inert top electrodes to govern the hysteresis effect of memory devices, respectively. While the Cr/MAPbI3/FTO device displayed an analog resistive switching (RS) behavior and a comparatively low ON/OFF ratio of 10, the Ag/MAPbI3/FTO structure displayed digital bipolar RS and a high ON/OFF ratio of 102. The density functional theory simulations suggest that these various behaviors may be caused by variations in the mutual interaction between the iodine vacancy defect and the metal contact properties. The SET process involved switching both devices from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance one using the space charge-limited current mechanism. In the RESET process, the Ag-electrode device is allocated the Poole–Frenkel emission mechanism, and the Cr-electrode device is followed the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling mechanism. The formation and dissociation of iodine vacancy filaments via the dielectric layer were identified as the RS mechanism in both devices. The findings show that organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite has a strong potential for data storage.

Pentacoordinated Organotin(IV) Complexes as an Alternative in the Design of Highly Efficient Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Devices: Synthesis and Photophysical Characterization

The synthesis of four pentacoordinated organotin(IV) complexes prepared in a one-pot reaction from 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde, 2-amino-3-hydroxypyridine and organotin oxides is reported. The complexes were characterized by UV-Vis, IR, MS, 1H, 13C and 119Sn NMR techniques. The compound based on 2,2-diphenyl-6-aza-1,3-dioxa-2-stannanaphtho[1,2-h]pyrido[3,2-d]cyclononene revealed the formation of a monomeric complex with a distorted five-coordinated molecular geometry intermediate between the trigonal bipyramidal and square pyramidal. In order to find possible applications in photovoltaic devices, hybrid films of organotin(IV) complexes embedded in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) with graphene were deposited. The topographic and mechanical properties were examined. The film with the complex integrated into the cyclohexyl substituent has high plastic deformation, with a maximum stress of 1.69 × 107 Pa and a Knoop hardness of 0.061. The lowest values of 1.85 eV for the onset gap and 3.53 eV for the energy gap were obtained for the heterostructure having the complex with the phenyl substituent. Bulk heterojunction devices were fabricated; these devices showed ohmic behavior at low voltages and a space-charge-limited current (SCLC) conduction mechanism at higher voltages. A value of 0.02 A was found for the maximum carried current. The SCLC mechanism suggests hole mobility values of between 2.62 × 10-2 and 3.63 cm2/V.s and concentrations of thermally excited holes between 2.96 × 1018 and 4.38 × 1018 m-3.

Investigation of resistive switching properties in acceptor-induced Sr(Fe,Ti)O3 thin film memristor

In this work, the amorphous SrFe0.1Ti0.9O3-δ (a-SFT10) thin film was prepared on FTO/Glass substrate by chemical solution deposition process and then annealed at 500 ℃. Step Profiler measurements and SEM images revealed that the thickness of the a-SFT10 film was around 300 nm. The a-SFT10 thin film was found to have a smooth surface but was not crystalline. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to analyze the chemical states of the film. Fe2+ and Fe3+ coexist in a-SFT10, according to XPS results, with Fe3+ being the dominating state. The mixed valence state of iron ions may be related to oxygen vacancies. Current-voltage characteristics were conducted to study the electrical properties. The uniform switching voltages, high switch ratio and good endurance were obtained. The ratio of high and low resistance (RH/RL) is up to 103 under positive bias voltage. The physical mechanisms underlying resistance switching behaviors were also investigated. The results show that the Ohmic, space charge limited current and Schottky conduction mechanisms dominated in different voltage ranges of A-SFT10 films, respectively. The oxygen vacancies associated with the acceptor doping play a significant role in the current characteristic in Au/a-SFT10/FTO/Glass device. Our findings suggest that the device has potential applications in future resistive random access memory.

Multilevel resistive switching with negative differential resistance in Al/NiO/ZnFe2O4/ITO ReRAM device

The Resistive Random Access Memory devices have emerged as an energy-efficient alternative to Von Neumann computers by enabling in-memory computing. Here we demonstrate bipolar resistive switching in thin films of Nickel oxide (NiO) and Zinc Ferrite (ZFO) using a simple Al/NiO/ZFO/ITO configuration, making them a possible candidate for the next generation memory devices. The fabricated device demonstrated excellent resistive switching behavior with high endurance for up to 1000 cycles, good retention for more than 104 s, and a good resistance ratio of HRS to LRS ∼102. Ohmic conduction was observed in the LRS, while in the HRS, along with ohmic conduction, space charge limited current (SCLC) and Schottky mechanisms were observed. Besides the LRS and HRS, a number of stable intermediate resistance states can also be obtained during the RESET process using different stop voltages, which makes the current device a multilevel resistive switching device.

Design and synthesis of a solution-processed redox-active bis(formazanate) zinc complex for resistive switching applications.

In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of a mononuclear zinc complex (1) containing a redox-active bis(4-antipyrinyl) derivative of the 3-cyanoformazanate ligand. Complex 1 was readily obtained by refluxing zinc acetate with 3-cyano-1,5-(4-antipyrinyl)formazan (LH) in a methanolic solution. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of complex 1 shows that the formazanate ligands bind to the zinc center in a five-member chelate "open" form via the 1- and 4-positions of the 1,2,4,5-tetraazapentadienyl formazanate backbone leading to the formation of the mononuclear bis(formazanate) zinc complex exhibiting a distorted octahedral geometry. We also report the study of resistive-switching random access memory application of this solution-processable bis(formazanate) Zn(II) complex to facilitate the practical implementation of transition metal complex-based molecular memory devices. The complex demonstrated high conductance switching with a large ON-OFF ratio, good stability, and a long retention time. A trap-controlled space charge limited current mechanism is proposed for the observed resistive switching behavior of the device, wherein the role played by the [ZnIIL2] complex that comprises the extended redox-active conjugated ligand backbone is revealed by corroborating electrochemical studies, spectrochemical experiments, and DFT calculations. In addition to providing significant insights into the molecular design of transition metal complexes for memory applications, this study also presents the utilization of ZnIIL2 towards the realization of non-volatile resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices with inorganic/organic hybrid active layers that are highly cost-effective and sustainable. These devices exhibited multilevel switching and low current operation, both of which are desirable for advanced memory applications.

Resistive switching characteristics of HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;-based resistance random access memory under photoelectric synergistic regulation

Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;/Pt and Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;-ZnO/Pt resistance random access memory (RRAM) devices are prepared by magnetron sputtering. The results show that the Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;/Pt device has the stable bipolar resistive switching characteristics, good retention (as long as 10&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt; s), and a switching ratio greater than 10&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;. The current conduction mechanism of HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; device is ohmic conduction at low resistance, while space charge limited current (SCLC) mechanism dominates at high resistance, and the conductive filament is composed of oxygen vacancies. Owing to the low content and random distribution of oxygen defects in the HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; film, the endurance and uniformity of the device are poor. Compared with HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; device, HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;-ZnO device exhibits lower operating voltage and better uniformity and stability. The main reason is that ZnO material has smaller formation energy of oxygen vacancy, which can produce more oxygen defects under electric field to participate in the resistive switching behavior of the device, thereby reducing the operating voltage and improving the uniformity of the device. In addition, owing to the existence of the interface between HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; and ZnO film, the random distribution of oxygen defects is inhibited, that is, the random fracture and formation of conductive filament are inhibited, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the device. In addition, the resistive switching behaviors of Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;/Pt and Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;-ZnO/Pt RRAM devices under different intensities of 255 nm ultraviolet illumination are studied. For Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;/Pt device, the light of 255 nm wavelength shows little effect on its resistive switching characteristics. For the Cu/HfO&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;x&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;-ZnO/Pt RRAM device, the operating voltage and stability of the device can be improved by increasing the light intensity. Although the switching ratio of the device decreases with the increase of light intensity, the device can exhibit multiple resistance states by adjusting different light intensities to achieve multi-level storage. Finally, the analysis of the &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;-&lt;i&gt;V&lt;/i&gt; curves of the devices indicates that the two types of devices show similar resistive switching mechanisms under the illumination of light or no light, which can be explained by the resistive switching mechanism of oxygen vacancy conductive filament. Therefore, a physical model based on the oxygen vacancy conductive filament is established to explain the resistive switching behavior of the device in this paper.

Dark conduction mechanisms of PTQBDT based heterojunction diode

Al:LiF/PTQBT:PCBM/PEDOT:PSS/ITO/glass organic-based diode is fabricated with different weight ratios in PTQBT:PCBM active layer. The diodes D1, D2 and D3 are prepared using the precursor solution for spin coating process as 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4, respectively. Under dark, main diode parameters are extracted by conventional thermionic emission theory using the results of measurements. Parasitic resistance contribution, non-ideal barrier height formation and high values of ideality factor indicate possible effects of space charge limited current flow mechanism on forward biased characteristics. At saturated voltage region, series resistances are calculated and the results are evaluated according to Cheung’s method. The possible voltage sharing between interface layer and depletion region are also investigated by analysis of density of interface states. In addition, field effect is found in a major role on the reverse current flow and the mechanism is evaluated according to Schottky-Richardson model.

Enhanced resistive switching properties of HfAlOx/ZrO2- based RRAM devices

Resistive Random-Access Memory (RRAM) devices are recognized as potential candidates for next-generation memory devices, due to their smallest cell size, high write/erase speed, and endurance. Particularly, the resistive switching (RS) characteristics in oxide materials have offered new opportunities for developing CMOS-compatible high-density RRAM devices. In this study, the RS behavior of HfAlOx/ZrO2 thin films sandwiched structure between TiN bottom electrode and Au top electrodes were investigated. It was found that Au/HfAlOx/ZrO2/TiN stacks were superior in terms of RS performance when compare to Au/HfAlOx/TiN memory stacks. The devices demonstrated a good resistance ratio of high resistance state and low resistance state ∼103 for Au/HfAlOx/TiN and ∼105 for Au/HfAlOx/ZrO2/TiN stacks, respectively. Both stacks showed good retention characteristics (>104 ​s) and endurance (>103 cycles). The experimental current-voltage characteristics fitted with different conducting mechanisms, the linear lower bias region is dominated by ohmic conductivity, whereas the non-linear higher bias region was dominated by space-charge limited current conduction mechanism.

High energy storage efficiency and temperature stability realized in the Ba0.3Sr0.7Zr0.18Ti0.82O3/LaNiO3 heterostructure thin films directly deposited on the conductive Si substrate

A high-performance energy storage capacitor would not display high energy storage density (Ue) but high energy storage efficiency (η). However, during raising the electric field (E) or temperature (T), the η in dielectric thin films often shows an obvious degradation process. The degradation process is closely related to the change of the charge carrier transport mechanism as a function of E or T. Compared with the electric breakdown strength, the relationship between η and the charge carrier transport mechanisms in the dielectric thin films was less concerning. In this work, by increasing the trigger E and T of the space charge limited current mechanism, the beginning of the η degradation process was delayed into higher E and T. Consequently, a high Ue (∼56.6 J/cm3) and η (∼93.9%) were achieved simultaneously in Ba0.3Sr0.7Zr0.18Ti0.82O3/LaNiO3 heterostructure thin films directly deposited on low-cost conductive silicon wafers. Moreover, the temperature stability was greatly improved. This result would also offer a promising approach to improve the electrical properties of the dielectric oxide thin films in a harsh environment of high temperatures by redistributing oxygen vacancies through the heterostructure interface.