Abstract
In this work, the effects of 120 MeV Ag ion irradiation on the switching properties of Au/HfO2/Au-based Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) devices are reported. The ion fluence is varied between 5 × 1010 and 5 × 1012 ions/cm2 while two device sizes, with active areas 10 µm × 10 µm and 20 µm × 20 µm, are tested. In each case, 16 devices are subjected to ion irradiation and it is shown that the set voltages are generally lower and the spread in the switching voltages is reduced for the irradiated samples in comparison to the pristine devices. The existence of a critical dose of 5 × 1011 ions/cm2 up to which an improvement in the device performance is observed. Photoluminescence studies indicate the presence of oxygen-related vacancies in both pristine and irradiated samples, which may be the reason for the observed forming free switching behavior. Swift heavy ion irradiation is, thus, a simple but effective technique to tune the performance of HfO2-based resistive switching devices. The study also indicates the significance of radiation damage and reliability of these devices beyond a critical fluence.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Available and can be produced anytime.
References
M.A. Zidan, J.P. Strachan, W.D. Lu, The future of electronics based on memristive systems. Nat. Electron. 1(1), 22–29 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-017-0006-8
D.B. Strukov, G.S. Snider, D.R. Stewart, R.S. Williams, The missing memristor found. Nature 453(7191), 80–83 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06932
D. Ielmini, Resistive switching memories based on metal oxides: Mechanisms, reliability and scaling. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 31(6), 1–25 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1088/0268-1242/31/6/063002
F. Palumbo, Formation and characterization of filamentary current paths in HfO2-based resistive switching structures. IEEE Electron. Dev. Lett. 33(7), 1057–1059 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2012.2194689
A. Sawa, Resistive switching in Rapid advances in information technology rely on high-speed and. Mater. Today 11(6), 28–36 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(08)70119-6
M. Lanza, A review on resistive switching in high-k dielectrics: a nanoscale point of view using conductive atomic force microscope. Materials (Basel) 7(3), 2155–2182 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma7032155
A. Chen, Solid-state electronics: a review of emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies and applications. Solid State Electron. 125, 25–38 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sse.2016.07.006
S. Petzold, S.U. Sharath, J. Lemke, E. Hildebrandt, C. Trautmann, L. Alff, Heavy Ion radiation effects on hafnium oxide-based resistive random access memory. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 66(7), 1715–1718 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2019.2908637
M. Alayan, M. Bagatin, S. Gerardin, A. Paccagnella, L. Larcher, E. Vianello, E. Nowak, B. De Salvo, L. Perniola, Experimental and simulation studies of the effects of heavy-ion irradiation on HfO2-based RRAM cells. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 64(8), 2038–2045 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2017.2721980
Y. Chen, ReRAM: history, status, and future. IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev. 67(4), 1420 (2020)
S. Kvatinsky, K. Talisveyberg, D. Fliter, A. Kolodny, U.C. Weiser, E.G. Friedman, Models of memristors for SPICE simulations, in 27th Conv. Electr. Electron. Eng. Isr. (IEEE, 2012) pp. 1–5 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1109/EEEI.2012.6377081
X. Hong, D.J. Loy, P.A. Dananjaya, F. Tan, C. Ng, W. Lew, Oxide based RRAM materials for neuromorphic computing. J. Mater. Sci. 53(12), 8720–8746 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2134-6
R. Islam, H. Li, P. Chen, W. Wan, H. Chen, B. Gao, H. Wu, S. Yu, K. Saraswat, H. Philip Wong, Device and materials requirements for neuromorphic computing. J. Phys. D 52(11), 1–24 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aaf784
D.S. Korolev, A.N. Mikhaylov, A.I. Belov, V.A. Sergeev, I.N. Antonov, A.P. Kasatkin, O.N. Gorshkov, D.I. Tetelbaum, Influence of ion irradiation on the resistive switching parameters of SiOx-based thin-film structures. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 643(1), 1–5 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/643/1/012094
B. Butcher, X. He, M. Huang, Y. Wang, Qi. Liu, H. Lv, M. Liu, W. Wang, Proton-based total-dose irradiation effects on Cu/HfO2:Cu/Pt ReRAM devices. Nanotechnology 21(47), 1–5 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/21/47/475206
D.M. Fleetwood, P.S. Winokur, J.R. Schwank, Using laboratory X-Ray and cobalt-60 irradiations to predict CMOS device response in strategic and space environments. IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev. 35(6), 1497–1505 (1988)
U.S. Joshi, Ion irradiation: a tool to understand oxide RRAM mechanism. Rad. Eff. Def. Sol. 166(8–9), 724–733 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1080/10420150.2011.583246
X. Lian, E. Miranda, S. Long, L. Perniola, M. Liu, J. Suñé, Threestate resistive switching in HfO2-based RRAM. Solid. State. Electron. 98, 38–44 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sse.2014.04.016
N. Arun, K.V. Kumar, A.P. Pathak, D.K. Avasthi, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, Hafnia-based resistive switching devices for nonvolatile memory applications and effects of gamma irradiation on device performance. Rad. Eff. Def. Sol. 173(3–4), 239–249 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1080/10420150.2018.1425863
L.D.V. Sangani, C.R. Kumar, M.G. Krishna, Interfacial electrode-driven enhancement of the switching parameters of a copper oxide-based resistive random-access memory device. J. Electron. Mater. 45(1), 322–328 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-4074-0
L.D.V. Sangani, K.V. Sri, M.A. Mohiddon, M.G. Krishna, Low temperature Au induced crystallization of titanium dioxide thin films for resistive switching applications. RSC Adv. 5(83), 67493–67499 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1039/c5ra09022a
W. Duan, J. Wang, X. Zhong, The effect of rays irradiation on the electrical properties of WOx) film-based memory cells. Lett. J. Explor. Front. Phys. 119, 27003-P1-27003-P4 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/119/27003
N. Manikanthababu, N. Arun, M. Dhanunjaya, V. Saikiran, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, A.P. Pathak, Synthesis, characterization and radiation damage studies of high-k dielectric (HfO2) films for MOS device applications. Rad. Eff. Def. Sol. 170(3), 207–217 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1080/10420150.2014.980259
N. Arun, J. Prabana, K.V. Kumar, A.P. Pathak, S.V.S. Nageswara, Fabrication of HfO2 based MOS and RRAM devices: a study of thermal annealing effects on these devices. AIP. Proc. 030216, 4–7 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5113055
N. Manikanthababu, S. Vajandar, N. Arun, A.P. Pathak, K. Asokan, T. Osipowicz, T. Basu, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, Electronic excitation induced defect dynamics in HfO2 based MOS devices investigated by in-situ electrical measurements. Appl. Phys. Lett. 112(131601), 1–5 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5012269
M.R. Shaneyfelt, D.M. Fleetwood, J.R. Schwank, K.L. Hugh, Charge yield for cobalt-60 And 10-Kev X-ray irradiations Of MOS devices. IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev. 38(6), 1187–1194 (1991)
A. Benyagoub, Mechanism of the monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transition induced in zirconia and hafnia by swift heavy ions. Phys. Rev. B 72(9), 21–24 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.72.094114
M. Dhanunjaya, D.K. Avasthi, A.P. Pathak, S.A. Khan, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, Grain fragmentation and phase transformations in hafnium oxide induced by swift heavy ion irradiation. Appl. Phys. A 124(587), 1–10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-2000-z
M. Dhanunjaya, S.A. Khan, A.P. Pathak, D.K. Avasthi, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, Ion induced crystallization and grain growth of hafnium oxide nano-particles in thin-films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. J. Phys. D 50, 1–8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aa9723
N. Arun, K. Vinod Kumar, A. Mangababu, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, A.P. Pathak, Influence of the bottom metal electrode and gamma irradiation effects on the performance of HfO2-based RRAM devices. Rad. Eff. Def. Sol. 174(1–2), 66–75 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/10420150.2019.1579213
F. El Kamel, Z. Ben Cheikh, M.A. Soussou, A. Moadhen, K. Khirouni, Structural, optical and dielectric characterization of Au/HfO2/(Pt, TiN) capacitors. Thin Solid Films 645, 282–289 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2017.10.061
N. Manikanthababu, N. Arun, M. Dhanunjaya, S.V.S. Nageswara Rao, A.P. Pathak, Gamma irradiation-induced effects on the electrical properties of HfO2based MOS devices. Rad. Eff. Def. Sol. 171(1–2), 77–86 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/10420150.2015.1135152
R. Waser, R. Dittmann, C. Staikov, K. Szot, Redox-based resistive switching memories nanoionic mechanisms, prospects, and challenges. Adv. Mater. 21, 2632–2663 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200900375
P.C. Akshara, N. Basu, J. Lahiri, G. Rajaram, M.G. Krishna, Resistive switching behaviour of amorphous silicon carbide thin films fabricated by a single composite magnetron sputter deposition method. Bull. Mater. Sci. 43(123), 1–8 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-020-02093-8
J.Y. Son, D.Y. Kim, H. Kim, W.J. Maeng, Y.S. Shin, Y.H. Shine, A HfO2 thin film resistive switch based on conducting atomic force microscopy. Electrochem Solid-State Lett 14(8), 311–313 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3574526
H. Akinaga, H. Shima, Resistive random access memory (ReRAM) based on metal oxides. Proc. IEEE 98(12), 2237–2251 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2010.207083
G. Sassine, L. Barbera, N. Najjari, D. Lyon, E.C. De Lyon, Interfacial versus filamentary resistive switching in TiO2 and HfO2 devices Interfacial versus filamentary resistive switching in TiO2 and HfO2 devices. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 34(1), 012202-1-012202–6 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4940129
K.H. Xue, B. Traore, P. Blaise, L.R. Fonseca, E. Vianello, G. Molas, B. De Salvo, G. Ghibaudo, B. Magyari-Kope, Y. Nishi, A combined ab initio and experimental study on the nature of conductive filaments in Pt/HfO2/Pt resistive random access memory. IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev. 61(5), 1394–1402 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2014.2312943
U. Celano, Y. Yin Chen, D.J. Wouters, G. Groeseneken, M. Jurczak, W. Vandervorst, Filament observation in metal-oxide resistive switching devices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 102(12), 2011–2014 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4798525
K.L. Lin, T.H. Hou, J. Shieh, J.H. Lin, C.T. Chou, Y.J. Lee, Electrode dependence of filament formation in HfO2 resistive-switching memory. J. Appl. Phys. 109, 084104 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3567915
J.H. Stathis, Reliability limits for the gate insulator in CMOS technology. IBM J. Res. Dev. 46(2/3), 265–286 (2002)
M.A. Alam, B.E. Weir, P.J. Silverman, A study of soft and hard breakdown—part II: principles of area, thickness, and voltage scaling. IEEE Trans. Electrin. Dev. 49(2), 232–238 (2002)
F. Nardi, C. Cagli, D. Ielmini, S. Spiga, Reset current reduction and set-reset instabilities in unipolar NiO RRAM, International Memory Workshop (2011), pp. 160–163
T. Tan, Du. Yihang, Ai. Cao, Y. Sun, H. Zhang, G. Zha, Resistive switching of the HfOx/HfO2 bilayer heterostructure and its transmission characteristics as a synapse. RSC Adv. 8, 41884–41891 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra06230g
H.Y. Lee, Y.S. Chen, P.S. Chen, T.Y. Wu, F. Chen, C.C. Wang, P.J. Tzeng, M.-J. Tsai, C. Lien, Low-power and nanosecond switching in robust hafnium oxide resistive memory with a thin Ti cap. IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev. 31(1), 44–46 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2009.2034670
S. Lee, W.-G. Kim, S.-W. Rhee, K. Yong, Resistance switching behaviors of hafnium oxide films grown by MOCVD for nonvolatile memory applications. J. Electrochem. Soc. 155(2), 92–96 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2814153
Heng Yuan Lee, Pang Shiu Chen, Tai Yuan Wu, Ching Chiun Wang, Pei Jer Tzeng, Cha Hsin Lin, Frederick, Chen, Ming-Jinn Tsai, and Chenhsin Lien”, Electrical evidence of unstable anodic interface in Ru/HfOx/TiN unipolar resistive memory”. Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 142911 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2908928
M.Y. Chan, T. Zhang, V. Ho, P.S. Lee, Resistive switching effects of HfO2 high-k dielectric. Microelectron. Eng. 85, 2420–2424 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2008.09.021
T. Nagata, M. Haemori, Y. Yamashita, H. Yoshikawa, Y. Iwashita, K. Kobayashi, Oxygen migration at Pt/HfO2/Pt interface under bias operation. Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 082902-1-082902–3 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3483756
K.M. Neyman, C. Inntam, A.V. Matveev, V.A. Nasluzov, N. Rösch, Single d-metal atoms on Fs and Fs+ defects of MgO(001): a theoretical study across the periodic table. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 11652–11660 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1021/ja052437i
X.-Q. Gong, A. Selloni, O. Dulub, P. Jacobson, U. Diebold, Small Au and Pt clusters at the anatase TiO2(101) surface: behavior at terraces, steps, and surface oxygen vacancies. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 370–381 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1021/ja0773148
P. Gonon, M. Mougenot, C. Vallée, C. Jorel, V. Jousseaume, H. Grampeix, F. El Kamel, Resistance switching in HfO2 metal-insulator-metal devices. J. Appl. Phys. 107, 074507 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3357283
R. Nakajima, A. Azuma, H. Yoshida, T. Shimizu, T. Ito, S. Shingubara, Hf layer thickness dependence of resistive switching characteristics of Ti/Hf/HfO2/Au resistive random access memory device. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 57(61), 066 (2018). https://doi.org/10.7567/JJAP.57.06HD06
D.S. Jeong, H. Schroeder, U. Breuer, R. Waser, Characteristic electroforming behavior in Pt/TiO 2/Pt resistive switching cells depending on atmosphere. J. Appl. Phys. 104(12), 123716 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3043879
X. Zhang, Resistive switching characteristics of Ni/HfO2/Pt ReRAM. J. Semicond. 33(5), 2011–2013 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-4926/33/5/054011
A. Chen, Area and thickness scaling of forming voltage of resistive switching memories. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 35(1), 57–59 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2013.2288262
Y. Li, S. Long, Y. Liu, C. Hu, J. Teng, Q. Liu, H. Lv, J. Suñé, M. Liu, Conductance quantization in resistive random access memory. Nanoscale Res Lett 10(1), 420 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-015-1118-6
G. Niu, P. Calka, M.A. der Maur, F. Santoni, S. Guha, M. Fraschke, P. Hamoumou, B. Gautier, E. Perez, C. Walczyk, C. Wenger, Geometric conductive filament confinement by nanotips for resistive switching of HfO 2-RRAM devices with high performance. Sci. Rep. 6(1), 1–9 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25757
M. Kong, B. Li, C. Guo, P. Zeng, M. Wei, W. He, The optical absorption and photoluminescence characteristics of evaporated and IAD HfO2 thin films. Coatings 9, 307 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9050307
J.W. Strand, J. Cottom, L. Larcher, A.L. Shluger, Effect of electric field on defect generation and migration in HfO2. Phys. Rev. B 102, 014106 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.014106
Acknowledgements
N. Arun thanks UGC-NET for providing the fellowship. APP thanks National Academy of Sciences, India, Prayagraj (Allahabad) for the award of NASI Sr Scientist Platinum Jubilee Fellowship. We thank IUAC, New Delhi for financial support and for access to its facilities. We thank Centre for Nanotechnology (CFN), University of Hyderabad for providing necessary characterization facilities. We also thank DST-PURSE (India), UGC-NRC and UGC-SAP- DRS-I, CASEST, SOP, UOH programs for support.
Funding
UFR Project of IUAC, New Delhi, India.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors have significant contribution to the work and the manuscript is submitted with the consent of all authors.
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arun, N., Sangani, L.D.V., Vinod Kumar, K. et al. Effects of swift heavy ion irradiation on the performance of HfO2-based resistive random access memory devices. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 2973–2986 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-05049-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-05049-0