Dynamic moderation of an electric field using a SiO2 switching layer in TaOx ‐based ReRAM

ReRAMs using oxygen vacancy drift in their resistive switching are promising candidates as next generation memory devices. One remaining issue is degradation of the on/off ratio down to 102 or less with an increased number of switching cycles. Such degradation is caused by a local hard breakdown in a set process due to a very high electric field formed just before the completion of a conductive filament formation. We found that introducing an ultra-thin SiO2 layer prevents the hard breakdown by dynamical moderation of the electric field formed in the TaOx matrix, resulting in repeated switching while retaining a higher on/off ratio of about 105. (C) 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim