Ionic and Metallic Ag-Doped Oxide Nanocomposites for High-Performance Memristors

Memristor has the capability to mimic the functionalities of the human brain and perform in-memory computing, making them a focal point of interest among researchers studying memristors. In this research, we have successfully developed a memristor device with high cyclic stability using a thin film composed of Ag-nanoparticle-embedded TiO 2 on highly boron-doped silicon (p + -Si). The fabrication process included coating the p + -Si substrate with a thin layer of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 (LTO) via a solution-based method, followed by ion exchange and reduction processes. An aluminum (Al) metal electrode is then deposited atop the Ag-ion-exchanged film to finalize the device construction. The stable electrical switching behavior of this device originated from the reversible oxidation and reduction of Ag, which enables bias-dependent cyclic conducting nanofilament formation of Ag between two electrodes. The electrical characteristics of the device, indicated by I – V curves, exhibit stable, reversible switching, which remains consistent across numerous operational cycles and shows reliable data retention of ∼10 5 seconds by maintaining its On-to-Off ratio of 10 5 . Moreover, the difference in the current levels between the low resistance state (LRS) and the high resistance state (HRS) of the memristor device exceeds 10 3 times, effectively demonstrating the characteristics typical of ReRAM.