Applied Microscopy

Korean Society of Microscopy (한국현미경학회)
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Synthesis and Characterization of a Pt/NiO/Pt Heterostructure for Resistance Random Access Memory

  • Kim, Hyung-Kyu (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Bae, Jee-Hwan (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Kim, Tae-Hoon (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Song, Kwan-Woo (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Yang, Cheol-Woong (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University)
  • Received : 2012.11.19
  • Accepted : 2012.12.06
  • Published : 2012.12.31
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Abstract

We examined the electrical properties and microstructure of NiO produced using a sol-gel method and Ni nitrate hexahydrate ($Ni[NO_3]_2{\cdot}6H_2O$) to investigate if this NiO thin film can be used as an insulator layer for resistance random access memory (ReRAM) devices. It was found that as-prepared NiO film was polycrystalline and presented as the nonstoichiometric compound $Ni_{1+x}O$ with Ni interstitials (oxygen vacancies). Resistances-witching behavior was observed in the range of 0~2 V, and the low-resistance state and high-resistance state were clearly distinguishable (${\sim}10^3$ orders). It was also demonstrated that NiO could be patterned directly by KrF eximer laser irradiation using a shadow mask. NiO thin film fabricated by the sol-gel method does not require any photoresist or vacuum processes, and therefore has potential for application as an insulating layer in low-cost ReRAM devices.

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References

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