Unified computational model of transport in metal-insulating oxide-metal systems

Tierney, B. D.; Hjalmarson, H. P.; Jacobs-Gedrim, R. B.; Agarwal, Sapan; James, C. D.; Marinella, M. J.

doi:10.1007/s00339-018-1632-3

Title: Unified computational model of transport in metal-insulating oxide-metal systems

Journal Article · 15 March 2018 · Applied Physics. A, Materials Science and Processing

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-1632-3 · OSTI ID:1473927

Tierney, B. D. ^[1]; Hjalmarson, H. P. ^[1]; Jacobs-Gedrim, R. B. ^[1]; Agarwal, Sapan ^[1]; James, C. D. ^[1]; Marinella, M. J. ^[1]

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

In this paper, a unified physics-based model of electron transport in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) systems is presented. In this model, transport through metal-oxide interfaces occurs by electron tunneling between the metal electrodes and oxide defect states. Transport in the oxide bulk is dominated by hopping, modeled as a series of tunneling events that alter the electron occupancy of defect states. Electron transport in the oxide conduction band is treated by the drift–diffusion formalism and defect chemistry reactions link all the various transport mechanisms. It is shown that the current-limiting effect of the interface band offsets is a function of the defect vacancy concentration. These results provide insight into the underlying physical mechanisms of leakage currents in oxide-based capacitors and steady-state electron transport in resistive random access memory (ReRAM) MIM devices. An explanation of ReRAM bipolar switching behavior based on these results is proposed.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); SNL Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 1473927

Report Number(s):: SAND-201-9972J; 667792

Journal Information:: Applied Physics. A, Materials Science and Processing, Vol. 124, Issue 4; ISSN 0947-8396

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 1 work

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (28)

Role of atomistic structure in the stochastic nature of conductivity in substoichiometric tantalum pentoxide Bondi, Robert J.; Fox, Brian P.; Marinella, Matthew J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943163	journal	March 2016
Bistable switching in electroformed metal–insulator–metal devices Pagnia, H.; Sotnik, N. Physica Status Solidi (a), Vol. 108, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.2211080102	journal	July 1988
High switching endurance in TaOx memristive devices Yang, J. Joshua; Zhang, M. -X.; Strachan, John Paul Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 97, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3524521	journal	December 2010
Defect dominated charge transport in amorphous Ta2O5 thin films Fleming, R. M.; Lang, D. V.; Jones, C. D. W. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 88, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.373747	journal	July 2000
Metal oxide resistive memory switching mechanism based on conductive filament properties Bersuker, G.; Gilmer, D. C.; Veksler, D. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 110, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3671565	journal	December 2011
Exponential ionic drift: fast switching and low volatility of thin-film memristors Strukov, Dmitri B.; Williams, R. Stanley Applied Physics A, Vol. 94, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-008-4975-3	journal	November 2008
Modeling and Optimization of Bilayered TaO _x RRAM Based on Defect Evolution and Phase Transition Effects Zhao, Yudi; Huang, Peng; Chen, Zhe IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 63, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2016.2532470	journal	April 2016
Reactive sputtering of substoichiometric Ta₂O_x for resistive memory applications Stevens, James E.; Lohn, Andrew J.; Decker, Seth A. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 32, Issue 2, Article No. 021501 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4828701	journal	March 2014
Low‐Frequency Negative Resistance in Thin Anodic Oxide Films Hickmott, T. W. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 33, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1702530	journal	September 1962
Electron Transfer Processes through Tantalum—Tantalum‐Oxide Diodes Flannery, W. E.; Pollack, S. R. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 37, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1708052	journal	November 1966
Electric Tunnel Effect between Dissimilar Electrodes Separated by a Thin Insulating Film Simmons, John G. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 34, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1729774	journal	September 1963
Conduction mechanism of a TaO _x -based selector and its application in crossbar memory arrays Wang, Ming; Zhou, Jiantao; Yang, Yuchao Nanoscale, Vol. 7, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4NR06922F	journal	January 2015
A physical model of switching dynamics in tantalum oxide memristive devices Mickel, Patrick R.; Lohn, Andrew J.; Joon Choi, Byung Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 102, Issue 22, Article No. 223502 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4809530	journal	June 2013
The mechanism of electroforming of metal oxide memristive switches Joshua Yang, J.; Miao, Feng; Pickett, Matthew D. Nanotechnology, Vol. 20, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/20/21/215201	journal	May 2009
Calculations of Radiation Dose-Rate Sensitivity of Bipolar Transistors Hjalmarson, Harold P.; Pease, Ronald L.; Devine, Roderick A. B. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 55, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2008.2007487	journal	December 2008
State Dynamics and Modeling of Tantalum Oxide Memristors Strachan, John Paul; Torrezan, Antonio C.; Miao, Feng IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 60, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2013.2264476	journal	July 2013
Nanoscale cation motion in TaOx, HfOx and TiOx memristive systems Wedig, Anja; Luebben, Michael; Cho, Deok-Yong Nature Nanotechnology, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.221	journal	September 2015
Electrical phenomena in amorphous oxide films Dearnaley, G.; Stoneham, A. M.; Morgan, D. V. Reports on Progress in Physics, Vol. 33, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/33/3/306	journal	September 1970
Eliminating Negative-SET Behavior by Suppressing Nanofilament Overgrowth in Cation-Based Memory Liu, Sen; Lu, Nianduan; Zhao, Xiaolong Advanced Materials, Vol. 28, Issue 48 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201603293	journal	October 2016
Isothermal Switching and Detailed Filament Evolution in Memristive Systems Mickel, Patrick R.; Lohn, Andrew J.; James, Conrad D. Advanced Materials, Vol. 26, Issue 26, p. 4486-4490 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201306182	journal	April 2014
Unified Physical Model of Bipolar Oxide-Based Resistive Switching Memory IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 30, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2009.2032308	journal	December 2009
An Extended Unified Schottky-Poole-Frenkel Theory to Explain the Current-Voltage Characteristics of Thin Film Metal-Insulator-Metal Capacitors with Examples for Various High-k Dielectric Materials Lau, W. S. ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, Vol. 1, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.006301jss	journal	January 2012
A fast, high-endurance and scalable non-volatile memory device made from asymmetric Ta₂O_5−x/TaO_2−x bilayer structures Lee, Myoung-Jae; Lee, Chang Bum; Lee, Dongsoo Nature Materials, Vol. 10, Issue 8, p. 625-630 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3070	journal	July 2011
A novel method of identifying the carrier transport path in metal oxide resistive random access memory Lu, Nianduan; Li, Ling; Sun, Pengxiao Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 48, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/48/6/065101	journal	January 2015
Erratum: Universal carrier thermoelectric-transport model based on percolation theory in organic semiconductors [Phys. Rev. B 91, 195205 (2015)] Lu, Nianduan; Li, Ling; Liu, Ming Physical Review B, Vol. 95, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.95.119904	journal	March 2017
Resistive Switching Mechanisms on TaO _x and SrRuO ₃ Thin-Film Surfaces Probed by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Moors, Marco; Adepalli, Kiran Kumar; Lu, Qiyang ACS Nano, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b07020	journal	December 2015
Universal carrier thermoelectric-transport model based on percolation theory in organic semiconductors Lu, Nianduan; Li, Ling; Liu, Ming Physical Review B, Vol. 91, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.195205	journal	May 2015
Forming time of conducting channels in double-layer Pt/Ta2O5/TaOx/Pt and single-layer Pt/TaOx/Pt resistance memories Yoo, H. K.; Kang, B. S.; Lee, S. B. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 540 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2013.06.032	journal	July 2013