Bilayer Metal-Oxide Conductive Bridge Memory Technology for Improved Window Margin and Reliability

In this paper, a detailed reliability analysis of metal-oxide conductive bridge memories (CBRAM) is presented. This paper mostly focuses on electrical characterization of metal-oxide CBRAM devices endurance, using optimized program/erase conditions, and data retention at high temperature. The addition of a thin metal-oxide layer (0.5 nm-thick Al₂O₃) in the bottom of the GdO_x memory stack significantly increases the R_OFF and the memory window (more than one decade), with improved endurance performance (up to 105 cycles) with respect to the monolayer CBRAM device. Meanwhile, high thermal stability was also achieved (two decades of window margin are constantly maintained beyond 24 h at 250 °C). The bilayer oxide GdOX/Al₂O₃ CBRAM is a promising technology for potential future high density memory applications.