Effect of microwave irradiation power on resistive switching performance in solution-processed aluminum oxide resistive memory

In this study, we fabricated ReRAM devices with the structure Ti/AlOx/Pt by applying solution-processed AlOx film as the switching layer. This enabled us to analyze the effect of the MWI power on the resistive switching performance of ReRAM. The AlOx resistive switching layer deposited by the solution-process was subjected to PDA treatment with microwave power ranging from 600 W to 3000 W, and the resistive switching performance was compared with as-dep and CTA-processed ReRAMs. All AlOx-based ReRAM devices exhibited bipolar resistive switching characteristics, and MWI-treated devices had larger memory windows than as-dep and CTA-treated devices. These solution-processed AlOx ReRAMs were found to exhibit Ohmic conduction in the low-voltage range of both the LRS and HRS. The high-voltage range of HRS shows the Poole-Frenkel conduction mechanism. In addition, compared with the as-dep device, the PDA-treated devices exhibited stable endurance characteristics and uniform resistance distribution in 1000 cycles of the switching operation, and showed reliable retention characteristics for 10,000 s at both room temperature and high temperature. XPS measurements were performed to analyze the relationship between the resistive switching performance and chemical nature of the AlOx switching layer by varying the microwave power and heat treatment method.