Resistive Switching Characteristics of 10-nm-Thick Amorphous HoScO x Films Doped with Nb and Zn

In this study, 10-nm rare-earth metal-oxide (REMO) films, namely, pure HoScO x (HSO) and HoScO x doped with Nb (HSO-Nb) and Zn (HSO-Zn), were deposited to build resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices with a Pt/REMO/Pt structure using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The results of x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that all as-deposited REMO films are featureless microstructures lacking long-range order. In all RRAM devices, layer structures were well adhered to each other with relatively smooth interfaces and no cracks or holes were observed. Hall measurements demonstrated n-type conduction in the as-deposited films. The addition of Nb and Zn increased carrier concentration and mobility of the HSO films and reduced electrical resistivity. The former was possibly caused by the electronic compensation of NbSc ··, thereby triggering the formation of polarons, and the latter was probably due to the increase in concentration of oxygen vacancies associated with acceptor doping. The RRAM devices revealed unipolar switching behavior characterized by a resistance ratio of more than three orders of magnitude, good endurance, and a long retention time. The switching behavior of the RRAM with amorphous HSO films was altered by the doping species. Doping with Nb and Zn decreased the forming voltage, facilitated the use of a smaller switching voltage, and increased the resistance ratio of high- and low-resistance states. The conduction mechanisms for the low resistive state and high resistive state were dominated by Ohmic conduction and trap-controlled space-charge-limited current mechanisms, respectively.