Numerical Simulation of Vanadium Dioxide Based Two-Terminal Nanoswitches

In the presented paper, a two-terminal nanoswitch based on nanocrystals of vanadium dioxide is studied using numerical simulation. Vanadium dioxide is strongly correlated electron material, demonstrating a phase transition at 68C. When a voltage is applied above the threshold between the contacts due to Joule heating in the nanocrystal, a local phase transition into the conductive phase occurs with the formation of a filament, which leads to a sharp increase in current with a simultaneous voltage drop. Calculations of nanoswitches with different geometries and contact materials were carried out. It was found that a potential barrier appears at the silicon–vanadium dioxide interface, which significantly increases the switching voltage and current. We have proposed a nanoswitch design that provides the most efficient switching. Based on the energy efficiency estimation, it was found that the proposed nanoswitch is promising for practical applications as a switching element for neuromorphic circuits.