Resistive memories using Cu nanoparticles embedded amorphous SiC

Resistive memories (RMs) have simple Metal/Insulator/Metal structures and are considered as outstanding candidates for future non-volatile memory applications [1]. The write and erase of RMs are based on the formation and rupture of conductive filament (CF) in the insulating medium, induced by applying a programming voltage on the device. The formation and rupture of CF switch the device between high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS), defined as OFF and ON, respectively. Material properties of the insulating layer are directly linked to the filament formation and rupture and thus device performance. Among many materials exploited for RMs, amorphous SiC (a-SiC) based RMs have shown great promise [2, 3] with ultra-high ON/OFF ratio. However, relatively large forming voltages were required to achieve the first LRS for a pristine device [3] due to slow diffusion of Cu in a-SiC matrix [2]. In this study, Cu nanoparticles (NPs) embedded a-SiC (a-SiC:Cu) is exploited as the insulating layer for Cu/aSiC:Cu/Au RMs. Key resistive switching performance of the Cu/a-SiC:Cu/Au RMs is investigated.