Investigation on switching behavior of ZrO2 thin film for memory device applications

In this paper, we have investigated the resistive switching behavior of nanostructured zirconium oxide (ZrO2) thin film deposition by spin coating. The metal (silver) electrodes were patterned by electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing technique. The X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infra-red spectra confirmed that the presence of monoclinic phase in the as deposited ZrO2 thin film. The field emission scanning electron microscopic image revealed the uniform deposition of ZrO2 thin film with spherical morphology. The as-fabricated Ag/ZrO2/Ag memory device exhibited the characteristic bipolar resistive switching behavior under consecutive dc sweep. The possible mechanism of the bipolar resistive switching has been discussed in detail. The endurance and retention analysis of the fabricated device revealed the stability of the device. Our results ensure the promising applications of ZrO2 thin film in the memory device applications.