Multilayer memristive/memcapacitive devices with engineered conduction fronts

Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, USA

^a e-mail: prmicke@sandia.gov

Received: 25 January 2013
Revised: 2 April 2013
Accepted: 19 April 2013
Published online: 13 June 2013

Abstract

We present a novel multilayered architecture for memristive devices which provides an alternative to conventional conductive filament switching. In conventional resistive switching, conductive filaments form and extend stochastically under applied electrical bias, with longer filaments being subjected to magnified electric fields that amplify their growth rate, producing a spatially localized and highly non-uniform conduction front of filaments. This produces devices with large variations in resistive and capacitive properties that are difficult to tune. Here, we simulate a multilayered device structure with alternating ionic mobility that predicts the development of a quasi-uniform conduction front which amplifies memcapacitive properties of the device and reduces device-to-device variability. Furthermore, this novel structure is predicted to enable fine-tuned control of switching events, an important property for analog (multibit) memory and neuromorphic computing applications.