Improved resistive switching characteristics in Ni/SiNx/p++-Si devices by tuning x

This letter studies the effect of the negative-set on the resistive switching performances of CMOS-compatible Ni/SiNx/p++-Si resistive memory devices by simply tuning x. A Ni/SiN1.07/p++-Si device showed lower power switching (20 μW) and better endurance cycles (103) compared to a Ni/SiN0.82/p++-Si device because of the improved negative set behavior and initially lower set and reset currents. In addition, we achieved fast switching speed for set (200 ns) and reset (100 ns) processes in the Ni/SiN1.07/p++-Si device. For the Ni/SiN1.07/p++-Si device, fine adjustment of resistance values is attainable by varying the pulse amplitude and width due to the gradual reset switching characteristics. The barrier-height-dependent conduction model is proposed to explain the change in the current level with the x value.