Paul Meuffels

Separation of bulk and interface contributions to electroforming and resistive switching behavior of epitaxial Fe-doped SrTiO3

We succeeded in the separation of bulk and interface contributions to the electroforming and resistive switching behavior of Pt/STO(Fe)/Nb:STO devices by performing impedance spectroscopy. Two distinctive features observed in the impedance spectra could be assigned to the STO(Fe) bulk and to the depletion layer of the Pt/STO(Fe) Schottky contact. We attribute the resistance change during the dc forming process to a local bypassing of the depletion layer caused by oxygen effusion to the environment. By comparing the impedance spectra in the resistive “on” and “off” states, we propose that the resistance of the STO(Fe)/Nb:STO interface locally changes during the switching process.

Probing Cu doped Ge0.3Se0.7 based resistance switching memory devices with random telegraph noise

The ultimate sensitivity of any solid state device is limited by fluctuations. Fluctuations are manifestations of the thermal motion of matter and the discreteness of its structure which are also inherent ingredients during the resistive switching process of resistance random access memory (RRAM) devices. In quest for the role of fluctuations in different memory states and to develop resistive switching based nonvolatile memory devices, here we present our study on random telegraph noise (RTN) resistance fluctuations in Cu doped Ge0.3Se0.7 based RRAM cells. The influence of temperature and electric field on the RTN fluctuations is studied on different resistance states of the memory cells to reveal the dynamics of the underlying fluctuators. Our analysis indicates that the observed fluctuations could arise from thermally activated transpositions of Cu ions inside ionic or redox “double-site traps” triggering fluctuations in the current transport through a filamentary conducting path. Giant RTN fluctuation...

Method to distinguish ferroelectric from nonferroelectric origin in case of resistive switching in ferroelectric capacitors

We present investigations on the resistive switching effect in SrRuO3∕PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3∕Pt ferroelectric capacitors. Using a conductive atomic force microscope, the out-of-plane piezoelectric response and the capacitive and resistive current were simultaneously measured as a function of applied bias voltage. We observed two independent switching phenomena, one attributed to the ferroelectric switching process and the other to resistive switching.We show that I-V curves alone are not sufficient in ferroelectric materials to clarify the underlying switching mechanism and must be used with sufficient caution.

Impact of the electroforming process on the device stability of epitaxial Fe-doped SrTiO3 resistive switching cells

In this work, the results of our detailed investigations on the electroforming procedure in Pt/SrTi0.99Fe0.01O3/SrTi0.99Nb0.01O3 [Pt/STO(Fe)/Nb:STO] metal-insulator-metal (MIM)-devices and its impact on the performance of resistive switching memory devices are presented. Questions about the exact location of the modifications triggered by the electroforming procedure within the investigated MIM-devices will be addressed. From a technological point of view, the thermal stability of formed devices becomes important. An increase in the device resistances during retention measurements has been observed indicating the presence of internal redistribution effects. These may result from an oxygen vacancy gradient induced by the forming process. However, these internal relaxation effects will not end up in the unformed state. Annealing experiments under defined atmospheric conditions allowed distinguishing between internal and external rediffusion effects. We found that SrTiO3 starts to interact with the surroundi...

Realization of regular arrays of nanoscale resistive switching blocks in thin films of Nb-doped SrTiO3

We report on the realization of short-range-ordered arrays of nanoscale resistive switching blocks in epitaxial Nb-doped SrTiO3 thin films. These blocks can be individually addressed by the tip of a conductive tip atomic force microscope and reversibly switched between a high and a low resistance state reaching an Roff to Ron ratio of up to 50. Scanning micrometer-scale areas with an appropriately biased tip, all blocks within the scanned area can be switched between the two resistive states. We suggest a connection between these nanoscale switching blocks and defect-rich nanoclusters which were detected with high resolution transmission electron microscopy.

On the stochastic nature of resistive switching in Cu doped Ge0.3Se0.7 based memory devices

Currently, there is great interest in using solid electrolytes to develop resistive switching based nonvolatile memories (RRAM) and logic devices. Despite recent progress, our understanding of the microscopic origin of the switching process and its stochastic behavior is still limited. In order to understand this behavior, we present a statistical “breakdown” analysis performed on Cu doped Ge0.3Se0.7 based memory devices under elevated temperature and constant voltage stress conditions. Following the approach of electrochemical phase formation, the precursor of the “ON resistance switching” is considered to be nucleation — the emergence of small clusters of atoms carrying the basic properties of the new phase which forms the conducting filament. Within the framework of nucleation theory, the observed fluctuations in the time required for “ON resistance switching” are found to be consistent with the stochastic nature of critical nucleus formation.

Leakage currents in high-permittivity thin films

Quite often leakage current data through high-permittivity thin films exhibit straight lines in the “Schottky” plot, i.e., log (current density j) versus sqrt (mean applied field), which suggests an electrode-limited current by field-enhanced thermionic emission. Unfortunately, the extracted permittivity at optical frequencies seldom is in agreement with experimental values and often is unacceptably small, i.e., <1. We suggest a model demonstrating that the leakage current in high-permittivity thin films is bulk-limited, but still is showing the characteristic dependence of thermionic emission. This is due to a combination of boundary conditions of the model, low-permittivity thin layers (“dead layer”) at the electrodes and current injection/recombination terms at the injecting/collecting electrodes, respectively.

High temperature conductance characteristics of LaAlO3/SrTiO3-heterostructures under equilibrium oxygen atmospheres

The interface conductance of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures was investigated under high temperature oxygen equilibrium. The dependence of the heterostructure’s conductance on oxygen partial pressure (from 10−22 to 1 bar) and temperature (800 to 1100 K) was compared to the characteristic of SrTiO3 single crystals, which is described in terms of a defect chemistry model. Up to 950 K the equilibrated heterostructures reveal an additional influence of a metallic-like conduction path with a very slight dependence on the oxygen partial pressure. Donor-type interface states which may result from either lattice distortions or A-site cation intermixing during processing are discussed as a possible origin for the exceptional interface conduction of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures.

Aging-induced dielectric relaxation in barium titanate ceramics

In this letter the authors report on the aging effect on the phase transitions and dielectric properties of 1mol% Mn-doped BaTiO3 ceramics. Aging the ceramics in the ferroelectric state stimulates a resistance for the orthorhombic-tetragonal and tetragonal-cubic phase transitions, which leads to stabilization of the tetragonal phase over a wider temperature range. The dielectric constant of the aged sample shows dispersion, associated with a dielectric loss relaxation peak near the 100kHz frequency region, in contrast to the unaged one. The present results are discussed in light of the existing models for ferroelectric domain stabilization.

Sr2TiO4 layered perovskite thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

We have fabricated epitaxial Sr2TiO4 thin films on SrTiO3 (100) single crystal substrates by pulsed laser deposition. We demonstrate that growth parameters including substrate temperature, oxygen pressure, as well as the laser fluence have to be chosen precisely to obtain stoichiometric well-ordered films of this complex layered structure. Films grown at low temperature showed three-dimensional random distribution of SrO double layers, causing a new extinction rule in x-ray diffraction. Stoichiometric Sr2TiO4 films with well-ordered SrO double layers were fabricated at higher temperature and under low oxygen pressures, where thermal energy was sufficient to compensate local composition fluctuation and Sr deficiency was very small.