Surface diffusion-limited lifetime of silver and copper nanofilaments in resistive switching devices

Wei Wang, Ming Wang, Elia Ambrosi, Alessandro Bricalli, Mario Laudato, Zhong Sun, Xiaodong Chen () and Daniele Ielmini ()
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Wei Wang: Politecnico di Milano and IUNET, Piazza L. da Vinci
Ming Wang: Nanyang Technological University
Elia Ambrosi: Politecnico di Milano and IUNET, Piazza L. da Vinci
Alessandro Bricalli: Politecnico di Milano and IUNET, Piazza L. da Vinci
Mario Laudato: Politecnico di Milano and IUNET, Piazza L. da Vinci
Zhong Sun: Politecnico di Milano and IUNET, Piazza L. da Vinci
Xiaodong Chen: Nanyang Technological University
Daniele Ielmini: Politecnico di Milano and IUNET, Piazza L. da Vinci

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Silver/copper-filament-based resistive switching memory relies on the formation and disruption of a metallic conductive filament (CF) with relatively large surface-to-volume ratio. The nanoscale CF can spontaneously break after formation, with a lifetime ranging from few microseconds to several months, or even years. Controlling and predicting the CF lifetime enables device engineering for a wide range of applications, such as non-volatile memory for data storage, tunable short/long term memory for synaptic neuromorphic computing, and fast selection devices for crosspoint arrays. However, conflictive explanations for the CF retention process are being proposed. Here we show that the CF lifetime can be described by a universal surface-limited self-diffusion mechanism of disruption of the metallic CF. The surface diffusion process provides a new perspective of ion transport mechanism at the nanoscale, explaining the broad range of reported lifetimes, and paving the way for material engineering of resistive switching device for memory and computing applications.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07979-0

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