Role of ITO electrode in the resistive switching behavior of TiN/HfO2/ITO memory devices at different annealing temperatures

TiN/HfO2/ITO memory devices were fabricated and annealed at 200, 300, and 400 °C. At room temperature (RT), 200 °C, and 300 °C, the devices show the self-compliance phenomenon and a low SET voltage of 0.2 V, while at 400 °C the SET voltage increases to 1.1 V and the low resistance state (LRS) current increases to 8 mA. We deduced that the impact of annealing temperature on the resistive switching behavior is mainly attributed to the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. Some Sn4+ ions in the ITO electrode drift towards the HfO2 layer owing to the electrical force, then an interfacial layer is formed and acts as an internal resistor. At 400 °C, the remarkable increase of LRS current is attributed to the decreases in both the ITO electrode resistance and the interface resistance.