TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatially-Resolved Thermometry of Filamentary Nanoscale Hot Spots in TiO2 Resistive Random Access Memories to Address Device Variability
AU - Swoboda, Timm
AU - Gao, Xing
AU - Rosário, Carlos M.M.
AU - Hui, Fei
AU - Zhu, Kaichen
AU - Yuan, Yue
AU - Deshmukh, Sanchit
AU - Köroǧlu, Çaǧıl
AU - Pop, Eric
AU - Lanza, Mario
AU - Hilgenkamp, Hans
AU - Rojo, Miguel Muñoz
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
PY - 2023/9/26
Y1 - 2023/9/26
N2 - Resistive random access memories (RRAM), based on the formation and rupture of conductive nanoscale filaments, have attracted increased attention for application in neuromorphic and in-memory computing. However, this technology is, in part, limited by its variability, which originates from the stochastic formation and extreme heating of its nanoscale filaments. In this study, we used scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) to assess the effect of filament-induced heat spreading on the surface of metal oxide RRAMs with different device designs. We evaluate the variability of TiO2 RRAM devices with area sizes of 2 × 2 and 5 × 5 μm2. Electrical characterization shows that the variability indicated by the standard deviation of the forming voltage is ∼2 times larger for 5 × 5 μm2 devices than for the 2 × 2 μm2 ones. Further knowledge on the reason for this variability is gained through the SThM thermal maps. These maps show that for 2 × 2 μm2 devices the formation of one filament, i.e., hot spot at the device surface, happens reliably at the same location, while the filament location varies for the 5 × 5 μm2 devices. The thermal information, combined with the electrical, interfacial, and geometric characteristics of the device, provides additional insights into the operation and variability of RRAMs. This work suggests thermal engineering and characterization routes to optimize the efficiency and reliability of these devices.
AB - Resistive random access memories (RRAM), based on the formation and rupture of conductive nanoscale filaments, have attracted increased attention for application in neuromorphic and in-memory computing. However, this technology is, in part, limited by its variability, which originates from the stochastic formation and extreme heating of its nanoscale filaments. In this study, we used scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) to assess the effect of filament-induced heat spreading on the surface of metal oxide RRAMs with different device designs. We evaluate the variability of TiO2 RRAM devices with area sizes of 2 × 2 and 5 × 5 μm2. Electrical characterization shows that the variability indicated by the standard deviation of the forming voltage is ∼2 times larger for 5 × 5 μm2 devices than for the 2 × 2 μm2 ones. Further knowledge on the reason for this variability is gained through the SThM thermal maps. These maps show that for 2 × 2 μm2 devices the formation of one filament, i.e., hot spot at the device surface, happens reliably at the same location, while the filament location varies for the 5 × 5 μm2 devices. The thermal information, combined with the electrical, interfacial, and geometric characteristics of the device, provides additional insights into the operation and variability of RRAMs. This work suggests thermal engineering and characterization routes to optimize the efficiency and reliability of these devices.
KW - conductive filaments
KW - device variability
KW - heat dissipation in electronics
KW - resistive random access memory
KW - scanning thermal microscopy
KW - UT-Hybrid-D
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171889761&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsaelm.3c00782
DO - 10.1021/acsaelm.3c00782
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85171889761
SN - 2637-6113
VL - 5
SP - 5025
EP - 5031
JO - ACS Applied Electronic Materials
JF - ACS Applied Electronic Materials
IS - 9
ER -