Hybrid aluminum and indium conducting filaments for nonpolar resistive switching of Al/AlO<i>_x</i>/indium tin oxide flexible device

Abstract

The nonpolar resistive switching characteristics of an Al/AlOx/indium tin oxide (ITO) device on a plastic flexible substrate are investigated. By analyzing the electron diffraction spectroscopy results and thermal coefficient of resistivity, it is discovered that the formation of aluminum and indium conducting filaments in AlOx film strongly depends on the polarity of the applied voltage. The metal ions arising from the Al and ITO electrodes respectively govern the resistive switching in corresponding operation polarity. After 104 times of mechanical bending, the device can perform satisfactorily in terms of resistance distribution, read sequence of high and low resistive states, and thermal retention properties.