Stability, bistability and instability of amorphous ZrO2 resistive memory devices

Amorphous zirconium oxide thin films deposited at room temperature, sandwiched between Pt and Ti electrodes, show resistive bipolar resistive switching with good overall performance figures (retention, ON/OFF ratio and durability). A variability observed during electrical characterisation is consistent with the coexistence of two different resistive switching mechanisms within the ZrO2 layer. Electron energy loss spectroscopy is used to map chemical variations across the device on the nanoscale. Partial oxidation of the Ti electrode creates an ohmic contact with zirconia and injects positively charged oxygen vacancies into the zirconia layer that are then responsible for resistive switching at the Pt / zirconia interface.