Performance improvement of a tunnel junction memristor with amorphous insulator film.

This study theoretically demonstrated the oxygen vacancy (V_O²⁺)-based modulation of a tunneling junction memristor (TJM) with a high and tunable tunneling electroresistance (TER) ratio. The tunneling barrier height and width are modulated by the V_O²⁺-related dipoles, and the ON and OFF-state of the device are achieved by the accumulation of V_O²⁺ and negative charges near the semiconductor electrode, respectively. Furthemore, the TER ratio of TJMs can be tuned by varying the density of the ion dipoles (N_dipole), thicknesses of ferroelectric-like film (T_FE) and SiO₂ (T_ox), doping concentration (N_d) of the semiconductor electrode, and the workfunction of the top electrode (TE). An optimized TER ratio can be achieved with high oxygen vacancy density, relatively thick T_FE, thin T_ox, small N_d, and moderate TE workfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]