Nonlinear resistive switching features of rapid-thermal-annealed aluminum nitride dielectrics with modified charge trapping behaviors

Nonlinear resistive switching (RS) features of aluminum nitride (AlNx)-based resistance random access memories (RRAMs) with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) have been investigated. The operation voltages of AlNx-based RRAMs are improved by RTA because of the reduction in nitride traps within AlNx dielectrics. In addition, the centroids of nitride traps are modified by RTA and a tunneling barrier at the Ir/AlNx interface is formed for the enhancement of nonlinearity to more than 10 during RS operation. The nonlinear behaviors of AlNx-based RRAMs with RTA can be attributed to the combination of conduction mechanisms of direct tunneling (DT) and trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) at low- and high-voltage regions, respectively. Furthermore, superior device reliabilities of AlNx-based RRAMs with RTA are achieved such as an endurance of over 500 cycles and data retention of more than 104 s. The adjustable nonlinear features and superior memory properties render the annealed AlNx-based RRAMs promising for future high-density nonvolatile memory arrays.