Evolution between Volatile and Nonvolatile Resistive Switching Behaviors in Ag/TiOx/CeOy/F-Doped SnO2 Nanostructure-Based Memristor Devices for Information Processing Applications

It is well known that higher requirements have been put forward for the computing efficiency and storage speed of the data processing of memory devices in the post Moore era. In particular, if a memory device with multiple physical characteristics can be developed, it will play an important role in realizing multifunctional applications of electronic systems. Here, a nanoscale memristor device with a Ag/TiOx/CeOy/F-doped SnO2 structure was prepared, which shows many interesting physical phenomena with the changing of the applied voltage. In the low-voltage region (<1.5 V), the device presents a volatile property, while it presents a nonvolatile behavior when a higher voltage (>2 V) was applied. Interestingly, the non-zero-crossing current–voltage (I–V) hysteresis behavior caused by the internal electromotive force appears in the voltage region of 0.5–1 V. Furthermore, as the applied voltage increases, the device gradually displays ideal memristor behavior and exhibits the standard resistance switching characteristic accompanied by the negative differential resistance effect in the region of 3.5–4.0 V. Therefore, this nanoscale device with multiple physical properties opens up a promising way for understanding the emerging physical phenomena, and it will be expected to become a potential candidate for the next generation of multifunctional electronic devices.