Memory Characteristics of Filament Confined in Tiny ReRAM Structure

Clarification of memory characteristics of tiny cell is important for practical use of resistive random access memory (ReRAM). However, limitation of semiconductor micro-fabrication technology hinders to obtain memory characteristics in tiny cell with an area comparable to the size of filaments. In this paper, we established a method to prepare a very small memory cell by fabricating ReRAM structure on the tip of a cantilever of atomic force microscope (AFM). We also established a method to avoid the overshoot of set current. As a result, reset current was successfully reduced enough to suppress serious damage to the cantilever. The effective cell size was estimated to be less than 10 nm in diameter due to electric field concentration at the tip of the cantilever, which was confirmed by an electric field simulator based on finite element method. We performed a unique experiment to verify the presence of oxygen pool in an anode, by utilizing removable bottom electrode structure. The result was not consistent with resistive switching models that require the anode to play a role as an oxygen reservoir.