Resistive switching effect in HfxAl1−xOy with a graded Al depth profile studied by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

• HfxAl1 − xOy films with graded Al depth profile are grown by atomic layer deposition.
• Multilevel resistive switching is observed in Pt/HfxAl1 − xOy/TiN stacks.
• The potential distribution across the oxide layer is derived.
• Resistive switching is explained in terms of redistribution of VO++ upon biasing.

The multilevel resistive switching effect in Pt/HfxAl1−xOy/TiN stacks has been studied by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES). Atomic layer deposition was used to grow HfxAl1−xOy films with graded Al depth profile, where the engineered Al concentration across the film facilitates the desired oxygen vacancies' profile. The method to derive the electrical potential profile across dielectric from the HAXPES spectra is proposed. By combining the information on the chemical state at both interfaces with the extracted potential distribution, a qualitative model for the resistive switching effect in the Pt/HfxAl1−xOy/TiN metal–insulator–metal stack is proposed. According to this model, the conductive filaments controlling the resistivity are formed by the electric field driven condensation of the charged oxygen vacancies in the oxide.