The Role of Materials and Defects on the Electroforming of Metal/Oxide/Metal Stacks

Soft dielectric breakdown, i.e., electroforming, of metal/oxide/metal stacks leads to a local reduction of the oxide in a filamentary region. This process is required to operate filamentary RRAM devices thereafter. In this work, different parameters influencing the electroforming process are investigated using simulations. The parameters studied are the role of the electrode materials, an initial sub-stoichiometry of the oxide, the applied voltage amplitude, and the ambient temperature. To this end, a 2D axisymmetric physical continuum model and a 3D KMC model are employed. The simulation results are discussed in context of experimental literature data.