Reduced Electroforming Voltage and Enhanced Programming Stability in Resistive Switching of SiO2 Thin Films

In this letter, we have investigated the effects of incorporating a thin silicon layer into a SiO2-based resistive switching random access memory. The thin silicon layer was deposited onto the sidewall region of the device by physical vapor deposition. It is found that this thin silicon layer effectively reduces the electroforming voltage and stabilizes device current in both low- and high-resistance programmed states. It is concluded that the improved performance is due to formation of a more robust, more uniform conducting filament. As a result of this advantage, stable tri-state programming can be achieved in the SiO2-based resistive memory device.