UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

An oxygen vacancy mediated Ag reduction and nucleation mechanism in SiO2 RRAM devices

Patel, K; Cottom, J; Bosman, M; Kenyon, AJ; Shluger, AL; (2019) An oxygen vacancy mediated Ag reduction and nucleation mechanism in SiO2 RRAM devices. Microelectronics Reliability , 98 pp. 144-152. 10.1016/j.microrel.2019.05.005. Green open access

[thumbnail of MR-Final-KP2.pdf]
Preview
Text
MR-Final-KP2.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (764kB) | Preview

Abstract

Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were used to model the incorporation and diffusion of Ag in Ag/SiO 2 /Me (Me = W or Pt) resistive random-access memory (RRAM) devices. We consider an O vacancy (V O ) mediated model of the initial stages of Ag clustering, where the V O is identified as the principle site for Ag + reduction. The Ag + interstitial is calculated to be energetically favoured inside a-SiO 2 at the Fermi energies of Ag, W and Pt. The adiabatic diffusion barriers of Ag + are found to be lower than those for Ag 0 with a strong dependence on the local network structure, supporting Ag + being the mobile species during device operation. Ag + ions bind to V O forming the [Ag/V O ] + complex. The [Ag/V O ] + complex is then reduced by trapping an electron forming [Ag/V O ] 0 . By sampling every V O in a 216-atom cell of a-SiO 2 we demonstrate that this mechanism can occur only at 33%, 33% and 11% of O vacancies at the Ag, W and Pt electrodes, respectively. This complex can subsequently act as a nucleation site for Ag clustering with the formation of [Ag 2 /V O ] + , which is reduced by trapping an extra electron.

Type: Article
Title: An oxygen vacancy mediated Ag reduction and nucleation mechanism in SiO2 RRAM devices
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.microrel.2019.05.005
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.microrel.2019.05.005
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Electronic and Electrical Eng
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10075153
Downloads since deposit
291Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item