Resistive Memory Switching of $\hbox{Cu}_{x}\hbox{O}$ Films for a Nonvolatile Memory Application

Poly crystalline Cu
_x
O films produced by plasma oxidation are investigated for nonvolatile memory applications. Reversible bistable resistive switching from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance state, and vice versa, is observed in an integrated Al/Cu
_x
O/Cu structure under voltage sweeping. More than 3000 repetitive cycles are observed in 180-mum memory devices with an on/off ratio of ten times. Data testing shows that the devices meet the ten-year retention requirement for the storage of programmed logic signals.