Improved resistive switching performance and mechanism analysis of MoO3 nanorods based memristors

Low dimensional nanomaterials have distinctive physical, chemical, and electrical characteristics, which have led to their widespread use in the preparation of sensors, optoelectronic devices, and nonvolatile memory devices in recent years. MoO3 nanomaterials are transition metal oxides with high work functions and broadband gaps, which have potential applications in electronic, electrochromic, and battery devices. In this work, Ag/MoO3/Ti memristive device was prepared by annealing MoO3 nanospheres, which can improve resistive switching (RS) behavior. In other words, one-dimensional (1D) MoO3 nanorods with uniform size and dense connections was obtained by annealing MoO3 nanospheres at 300 ℃. The RS behavior of the Ag/MoO3/Ti memristor presents obvious nonvolatile memory characteristics with larger resistance window at room temperature. In particular, the device shows N-type negative differential resistance (NDR) effect at relatively high positive voltage region. Based on the obtained data, the RS behavior conduction mechanism of the Ag/MoO3/Ti device was discussed by establishing physical models of Ohmic conduction and Schottky emission. This work establishes the foundation for further understanding the working mechanisms of memristors and exploring potential applications of low dimensional material based memristors.