High-Performance Resistance Switching Memory Devices Using Spin-On Silicon Oxide

In this paper, we present high-performance resistance switching memory devices (RRAM) with a SiO
₂
-like active layer formed from spin-on hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ). Our metal-insulator-metal devices exhibit switching voltages of less than 1 V, cycling endurance of more than 10
⁷
cycles without failure, electroforming below 2 V at room temperature, and retention time of resistance states of more than 10
⁴
seconds at temperatures up to 120 °C. We also report arrays of nanoscale HSQ-based RRAM devices in the form of multilayer nanopillars with switching performance comparable to that of our thin film devices. We are able to address and program individual RRAM nanopillars using conductive atomic force microscopy. These promising results, coupled with a much easier fabrication method than traditional ultrahigh vacuum-based deposition techniques, make HSQ a strong candidate material for the next-generation memory devices.