Impact of the mechanical stress on switching characteristics of electrochemical resistive memory.

Electrochemical memory (ECM) shows a marked asymmetric switching due to the different ionic energy barriers under a positive or negative voltage. The switching asymmetry can be explained by the mechanical-stress gradient aiding the CF retraction under negative erase. CF stabilization is demonstrated by increasing the program pulse width, suggesting the alleviation of the stress field through electrically induced relaxation and allowing reliable ECM storage to be achieved.