Tuning of the resistive switching mechanism in atomristor based on single-defect

The application of atomristor (thinnest memristor based on monolayer 2D materials) in integrated circuits could help extend the semiconductor technology to atomic scale, which offers a more positive portrait far beyond Moore's law and neuromorphic computing. However, it is still unclear whether a nonmetallic filament conductive mechanism could exist in these thinnest memristors. Here, the resistive switching characteristics of h-BN atomristors with different electrodes are systematically investigated, it is found that the switching processes in these thinnest memory devices are primarily dominated by the interactions between electrode-atoms and defects in the dielectric layer, and the resistive switching mechanism in these atomic devices could be tuned by the kind of single-defect. Based on this, we propose a nonmetal filament conductive mechanism according to the nitrogen vacancy (VN) enhanced conductivity effect in a single layer h-BN. This work demonstrates that the valence change mechanism could be realized by a single-defect of two-dimensional semiconductor at its thinnest limit in theory and may offer an answer for designing atomristor based on the mechanism without metal atoms participating.