50x Endurance Improvement in TaOx RRAM by Extrinsic Doping

Resistive RAMs (RRAM) have shown immense promise in serving as the building blocks of in-memory computing systems for neuromorphic applications. However, high forming voltage, low endurance and poor retention below the 20nm technology node hinder its use. In this paper, we present a CMOS-compatible technique, which not only improves the endurance and retention but also lowers down the forming voltage of the RRAM device. The endurance and retention properties of TaO x RRAM devices are augmented by implanting Zr atoms into the switching layer. The implanted devices (∼1010 cycles) on average show >50x higher endurance, than its counterparts (∼108 cycles), while exhibiting the better retention properties. In addition, the forming voltage of the implanted devices is significantly reduced in comparison with non-implanted samples due to lowering of oxygen vacancy (Vo) formation energy.