Effects of electrodes on the switching behavior of strontium titanate nickelate resistive random access memory

Strontium titanate nickelate (STN) thin films on indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrate were synthesized using the sol-gel method for resistive random access memory (RRAM) applications. Aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) were used as top electrodes in the STN-based RRAM to probe the switching behavior. The bipolar resistive switching behavior of the set and reset voltages is in opposite bias in the Al/STN/ITO and Pt/STN/ITO RRAMs, which can be partly ascribed to the different work functions of top electrodes in the ITO. Analyses of the fitting results and temperature-dependent performances showed that the Al/STN/ITO switching was mainly attributed to the absorption/release of oxygen-based functional groups, whereas the Pt/STN/ITO switching can be associated with the diffusion of metal electrode ions. The Al/STN/ITO RRAM demonstrated a high resistance ratio of >106 between the high-resistance state (HRS) and the low-resistance state (LRS), as well as a retention ability of >105 s. Furthermore, the Pt/STN/ITO RRAM displayed a HRS/LRS resistance ratio of >103 and a retention ability of >105 s.