Characteristics and mechanism of nano‐polycrystalline La₂O₃ thin‐film resistance switching memory

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the characteristics and the mechanism of Pt/La 2 O 3 /Pt resistance switching memory with a set of measurements. The La 2 O 3 films were determined as nano‐poly‐crystalline (diameter of the nanocrystals 5–10 nm) by XRD and HRTEM analysis. The Pt/La 2 O 3 /Pt device exhibited excellent resistive switching properties, including low switching voltage (<2 V), large low/high resistance ratio (>10 8 ), and good cycling endurance property. The conduction mecha‐ nisms of the Pt/La 2 O 3 /Pt device were revealed with current–voltage characteristics, which are different in the low and high resistance states. Furthermore, XPS analysis and temperature‐dependent resistance measurement in the low resistance state showed that the conducting filaments in the Pt/La 2 O 3 /Pt device are mainly affected by oxygen defects rather than metallic La. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)