TY - JOUR
T1 - Conductive bridging random access memory - Materials, devices and applications
AU - Kozicki, Michael
AU - Barnaby, Hugh
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded in part by Axon Technologies Corp. and by the Air Force Research Laboratory under grant no. FA9453-13-1-0288 and Defense Threat Reduction Agency under grant no. HDTRA1-11-1-005.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/10/5
Y1 - 2016/10/5
N2 - We present a review and primer on the subject of conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM), a metal ion-based resistive switching technology, in the context of current research and the near-term requirements of the electronics industry in ultra-low energy devices and new computing paradigms. We include extensive discussions of the materials involved, the underlying physics and electrochemistry, the critical roles of ion transport and electrode reactions in conducting filament formation and device switching, and the electrical characteristics of the devices. Two general cation material systems are given - a fast ion chacogenide electrolyte and a lower ion mobility oxide ion conductor, and numerical examples are offered to enhance understanding of the operation of devices based on these. The effect of device conditioning on the activation energy for ion transport and consequent switching speed is discussed, as well as the mechanisms involved in the removal of the conducting bridge. The morphology of the filament and how this could be influenced by the solid electrolyte structure is described, and the electrical characteristics of filaments with atomic-scale constrictions are discussed. Consideration is also given to the thermal and mechanical environments within the devices. Finite element and compact modelling illustrations are given and aspects of CBRAM storage elements in memory circuits and arrays are included. Considerable emphasis is placed on the effects of ionizing radiation on CBRAM since this is important in various high reliability applications, and the potential uses of the devices in reconfigurable logic and neuromorphic systems is also discussed.
AB - We present a review and primer on the subject of conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM), a metal ion-based resistive switching technology, in the context of current research and the near-term requirements of the electronics industry in ultra-low energy devices and new computing paradigms. We include extensive discussions of the materials involved, the underlying physics and electrochemistry, the critical roles of ion transport and electrode reactions in conducting filament formation and device switching, and the electrical characteristics of the devices. Two general cation material systems are given - a fast ion chacogenide electrolyte and a lower ion mobility oxide ion conductor, and numerical examples are offered to enhance understanding of the operation of devices based on these. The effect of device conditioning on the activation energy for ion transport and consequent switching speed is discussed, as well as the mechanisms involved in the removal of the conducting bridge. The morphology of the filament and how this could be influenced by the solid electrolyte structure is described, and the electrical characteristics of filaments with atomic-scale constrictions are discussed. Consideration is also given to the thermal and mechanical environments within the devices. Finite element and compact modelling illustrations are given and aspects of CBRAM storage elements in memory circuits and arrays are included. Considerable emphasis is placed on the effects of ionizing radiation on CBRAM since this is important in various high reliability applications, and the potential uses of the devices in reconfigurable logic and neuromorphic systems is also discussed.
KW - CBRAM
KW - ionic memory
KW - resistive memory
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U2 - 10.1088/0268-1242/31/11/113001
DO - 10.1088/0268-1242/31/11/113001
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84993929552
VL - 31
JO - Semiconductor Science and Technology
JF - Semiconductor Science and Technology
SN - 0268-1242
IS - 11
M1 - 113001
ER -