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Enhancing the memory window of AZO/ZnO/ITO transparent resistive switching devices by modulating the oxygen vacancy concentration of the top electrode

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Abstract

The effect of a defect concentration-modified top electrode on the bipolar resistance switching of transparent Al-doped ZnO/ZnO/ITO [AZO(TE)/ZnO/ITO(BE)] devices was investigated. Different oxygen vacancy concentrations in the top electrode, Al-doped ZnO, can be simply controlled by modulating the sputtering working pressure condition from 1.2 to 12 mTorr. The oxygen vacancy concentration between AZO and ZnO may trigger oxygen diffusion at the interface and affect the switching characteristic. High oxygen release from a ZnO resistive layer caused by excessive oxygen vacancy concentration at the top electrode is responsible for reducing the memory window as a result of reduced oxygen available to rupture the filament. Top electrode based on lower oxygen vacancy concentration has a higher memory window and an asymmetric resistive switching characteristic. However, all set of devices have excellent endurance of more than 104 cycles. This study showed that an Al-doped ZnO top electrode helps not only to achieve a transparent device but also to enhance memory properties by providing a suitable oxygen vacancy concentration.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under project NSC 102-2221-E009-134-MY3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan

    Firman Mangasa Simanjuntak & Kung-Hwa Wei

  2. Department of Electronics Engineering, National Institute of Science and Technology, Berhampur, 761008, Odisha, India

    Debashis Panda

  3. Department of Electronics Engineering and Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan

    Tsung-Ling Tsai, Chun-An Lin & Tseung-Yuen Tseng

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  1. Firman Mangasa Simanjuntak
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Correspondence to Tseung-Yuen Tseng.

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Simanjuntak, F., Panda, D., Tsai, TL. et al. Enhancing the memory window of AZO/ZnO/ITO transparent resistive switching devices by modulating the oxygen vacancy concentration of the top electrode. J Mater Sci 50, 6961–6969 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9247-y

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