Characterization of gadolinium oxide thin films with CF4 plasma treatment for resistive switching memory applications
Journal
Applied Surface Science
Journal Volume
276
Pages
497-501
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
The effect of the CF 4 plasma treatment on the gadolinium oxide (Gd x O y ) thin films for the resistive random access memory (RRAM) applications was investigated. The material properties of the fluorine incorporated Gd x O y films were analyzed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS). Further, the set and reset voltages of the Pt/Gd x O y /W RRAM devices with the CF 4 plasma treatment were effectively reduced to -1.15 and 2.1 V respectively owing to the low Schottky barrier height. The formation of GdF bonds can prevent the oxygen atoms from out-diffusing through Pt grain boundaries into the atmosphere, leading to the superior retention characteristics for over 10 4 s. The CF 4 plasma treated Gd x O y RRAMs can sustain a resistance ratio of 10 2 for more than 800 times stable set/reset cycling, suitable for future low-voltage and high-performance nonvolatile memory operation. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Type
journal article