Unipolar memristive switching in yttrium oxide and RESET current reduction using a yttrium interlayer

Abstract

We report on the unipolar resistive switching (RS) phenomenon in yttrium oxide (Y 2O 3) metal-insulator-metal structures. The RS behavior for Y 2O 3 shows a superior ONOFF resistance ratio of greater than 10 6 and good memory retention reliability performance of at least 10 6 seconds at room temperature. By adding a thin yttrium (Y) layer to form a YY 2O 3 bilayer structure, a reduction in the RESET current by two orders of magnitude is achieved, which is advantageous in reducing the total switching energy consumption for resistive random access memory application. © 2011 The Electrochemical Society.